Snow in So Cal (San Diego, Riverside: Valentine's day, live in, garden)

[cleosmom]

Originally Posted by compltlyme

I got a call from my friend in Riverside WAKING me this morning to tell me about the almost inch of snow she had in her yard... Right now I have a foot of it and the streets are paved with ice and we are stuck on our hill here in Western Washington... I promised to send her what was in my yard if she let me go back to sleep.... She replied with...whoops Nevermind... and hung up!!! LOL..

I remember getting excited at the little snow we got when I lived down there. Just be glad you don't get more! Playing in it is fun... driving in it... another story!

Oh yes, I got a call like that a few years ago from my sister who lives in Fresno. She told me I couldn't imagine it Uh yes I can more than imagine it

[Need_affordable_home]

You are right, the weather has been very weird lately! As for snow, I thought it was in the northern and central parts of CA, did San Diego and LA really get snow? Thats unusual!

[YOU-CANT-EAT-SCENERY]

Not sure about LA county, but some parts of Riverside, and San Bernadino county did. Supposed to be really windy again Monday. Unusual to have this much wind this late in the winter. Usually blows more during Oct. Nov.

[fbcobrn]

At 25' at night tonight...all I need 45 miles east of SanFran is some precipitation
It's snowed here in Oakley 3 times since 1981.

[ExNYC]

My daughter lives in Santa Ynez and said her bird bath froze in TWELVE degree temps the other night. Geez, I could go back to Noo Yawk for that.

[Dennis P]

I saw on the news this afternoon that it snowed in Malibu today! That, of course, caught everyone off guard. There was also snow in the Santa Clarita Valley. Yes, it's unusual to get snow in the lower elevations in the winter, but it DOES happen once in a great while.

When I moved to Sacramento in the fall of 1990, I could remember the first winter I was there, the nighttime temps got down to the 20s and--guess what?--that's right, it SNOWED! I read the paper the following day and read an article that stated it was the coldest winter on record in 50 years, or something like that. Of course, it would happen when *I* moved there!

[phree_spirit]

I never thought I'd see the day... its snowing in SoCal, and out here in CT, we haven't had one single inch! Maybe I don't need to move to CA to avoid the winter...?

[OCCASparky]

Originally Posted by cre8

One of the symptoms of global warming is an exaggerated hydrologic cycle. If it's cold enough to snow in any given microclimate, it'll still snow. Global warming might cause it to snow more than usual, however, since there is more water in the atmosphere. The predictions are that global warming will upset "normal" weather patterns; snow in areas that don't usually get it could be a symptom of a gradually warming atmosphere. Until the late 1800s it apparently snowed almost every year on the Central Coast, some years as far south as Carpinteria. Portola complained of snow and cold on his overland trek to Monterey Bay in the 1700s.

But still today, snow in southern California is not completely unusual. To my memory it snows in low-lying areas near the coast every 10 or so years. I remember snow in Calabasas and Fillmore in the late 80s. Snow levels on the mountains around Santa Barbara came to around 200 feet above sea level in the 90s, a couple of times. Fun to see while it lasts.

And in the 14th Century you could grow citrus in Great Britian. Your point?

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by OCCASparky

And in the 14th Century you could grow citrus in Great Britian. Your point?

I'm not 100 percent sure what you're asking. In your initial post you suggested that more snow didn't equal global warming. I answered that it could and explained how.

Most scientists agree that the earth is warming. They also agree that human activity plays a role, perhaps a major role. Yes, it's true that the earth's global climate has warmed and cooled over the eons. But if you're suggesting that human activity doesn't play a role in the current warming, I must ask you: are you willing to gamble polar ice-caps' melting and all of its consequences on a premise that human activity plays no role just because GB was warmer in the 14th century? Just asking.

[Corvus]

Originally Posted by OCCASparky

And in the 14th Century you could grow citrus in Great Britian. Your point?

Really? There were, say, orange groves in the British Isles back in the 14th Century, when it was notably colder there than it is now? Please, elaborate.

As to the point of the poster, it might have been that one data point does not refute a long-term trend backup up by the sum total of many millions of data points.

The fact that an 18-year-old died yesterday in San Bernardino does not refute the fact that in the United States the average lifespan is increasing.
The fact the Governor Schwarzenegger easily won reelection in November does not refute the fact that his party generally took a beating at the polls in November.
The fact that a man got mauled by a cougar in a State Park last week does not refute the fact that cougar attacks are quite rare.

Similarly, snow on a single day in the Los Angeles basin most certainly does not refute the fact that, as a long-term trend, the planet as a whole is getting warmer.

And anyone who thinks that it does refute such a thing is pitiably lacking in terms of being able to draw logical conclusions.