Feeling the storm fatigue? So are weather forecasters

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Friday, March 24.

California kicked off 2023 with a barrage of heavy weather that’s barely let up since New Year’s. A dozen atmospheric rivers have rolled through since late December, bringing epic rain, record snow and, for some communities, danger and devastation.

This week’s storm was especially severe in the Bay Area, where five people were killed in a single day, all reportedly by falling trees.

In San Francisco, strong winds shattered glass on skyscrapers and sent a couch sailing from a high-rise apartment to the sidewalk below.

And down in SoCal, I did a cliche cartoon double-take Wednesday when I saw headlines about a possible tornado touching down in the San Gabriel Valley.

Weather officials later confirmed it was indeed a tornado that ripped part of the roof off a building in Montebello, injuring at least one person and damaging more than a dozen other structures. That followed a Tuesday twister in Carpinteria that injured one person and “damaged around 25 mobile homes,” National Weather Service officials said.

The roof of the Royal Paper Box Co. in Montebello and nearby cars suffered damage in Wednesday’s weather event.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Turns out tornadoes actually do occasionally touch down in the Golden State. A NWS meterologist said seeing a “few of them a year is not uncommon.” The Ventura County Star has a map with more than 70 years of NWS data on California cyclones, if you’re so inclined.

The storms have affected some far more than others, with severe flooding, evacuations, power outages and blizzards devastating communities up and down the state. But there is a common attitude among Californians saturated in this gloom: We’re over it.

And that storm fatigue is also being felt by weather forecasters.

“It’s been really busy for us,” Dial Hoang, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service Bay Area, told me, adding that staffing has been ramped up at his office as forecasters from other regions are brought in to help.

That help is needed as the weather experts track multiple events and communicate with local authorities “to make sure we keep as many people as safe as possible,” Hoang said.

As “lovers of weather,” fellow NWS meteorologist David King said, “there is this element of excitement” as forecasters track systems.

But with the storms coming “one after another after another, there is this element of exhaustion that comes in.” King added, noting that he and fellow forecasters are “in the same boat” as Bay Area residents:

So when will the Golden State’s beloved sunshine return? And will it stick around now that we’re officially in spring?

“Our winter season really doesn’t kind of taper off until the end of March,” King explained. “There is April to look forward to [and] hopefully, we’ll have improving conditions.”

Dry conditions are expected over the next couple days, King told me, but he noted that weather officials “don’t want people to let their guard down.” He offered this advice:

The sunshine will probably be short-lived, King warned, as “yet another system looks to be moving toward the California coastline for early next week.”

And now, here’s what’s happening across California:

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L.A. STORIES

The historic workers strike that shut down L.A.’s school system for three days came to an end Thursday. LAUSD’s 1,000-plus campuses are set to reopen Friday as L.A. Mayor Karen Bass continues to mediate the ongoing labor dispute between the district and the union representing some of its lowest-paid employees. Los Angeles Times

Scientists have discovered alarming concentrations of pure DDT off L.A.’s coast in a portion of seafloor larger than the city of San Francisco. As many as half a million barrels of the once-popular pesticide were dumped into the ocean — mostly in the mid-1900s. “These revelations confirm some of the science community’s deepest concerns,” my colleague Rosanna Xia writes, “and further complicate efforts to understand DDT’s toxic and insidious legacy in California.” Los Angeles Times

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

A bill designed to punish oil companies for “price gouging” breezed through the state Senate on Thursday. The legislation, backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, would give the California Energy Commission authority to impose civil penalties on oil companies based on findings from a new state agency that would have the power to monitor the industry. Los Angeles Times

An associate dean at Stanford Law School has been suspended after a disruption during a speaking appearance by a conservative federal judge. Earlier this month, a group of students heckled Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, expressing anger over his stated opposition to same-sex marriage and rulings they say undermine LGBTQ equality. University officials announced that all students will take a training course on “freedom of speech and the norms of the legal profession.” San Francisco Chronicle

Some California lawmakers don’t want us tasting the rainbow. A recent bill from state Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Woodland Hills) would ban food products — including Skittles— containing chemicals that scientific studies have linked to health issues. Los Angeles Times

CRIME, COURTS AND POLICING

The former warden of a federal women’s prison in Northern California was sentenced to 70 months in prison this week for sexually abusing incarcerated women. Ray J. Garcia also forced women to pose naked and lied to the FBI after photos were found on his government phone. Los Angeles Times

HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT

CalMatters analyzed ZIP Codes statewide, showing “a strikingly homogenous portrait of who owns electric vehicles in California.” Zero-emission cars are largely concentrated in affluent communities in Silicon Valley, along with L.A. and Orange counties, with higher populations of white and Asian college-educated residents. CalMatters

An unusual parasite is killing sea otters off the California coast, according to scientists. In a recent study from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and UC Davis, researchers warn the parasite could infect other marine animals and humans. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Cluttercore — a decorating style that embraces a more-is-more philosophy — is a major social media vibe. If the idea of filling your home space with as many collectibles, trinkets or nostalgia as possible doesn’t give you as much anxiety as it does me, here are some L.A. shops to kick start your curating. Los Angeles Times

AND FINALLY

Today’s California landmark comes from Karen Axelton of Lakewood: our plentiful palm trees — the “ultimate Southern California sight … especially at sunset.”

A row of palm trees, photographed during a June sunset in 2021.

(Courtesy Karen Axelton)

Karen writes:

What are California’s essential landmarks? Fill out this form to send us your photos of a special spot in California — natural or human-made. Tell us why it’s interesting and what makes it a symbol of life in the Golden State. Please be sure to include only photos taken directly by you. Your submission could be featured in a future edition of the newsletter.

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