FILE: An orca swims in Monterey Bay, Calif. Chase Dekker Wild-Life Images/Getty Images Whale-watching tour boat operators across Southern California have reported an unusually large increase in orca sightings over recent weeks, which some experts say might be a sign of a shifting ocean environment along the Pacific coast. Multiple pods of two different species … Read more
FILE – Fresh snow covers the Palisades Tahoe ski resort, Thursday morning Dec., 7, 2023. Blake Kessler via Palisades Tahoe The Sierra Nevada snowpack, a key source of water for California, was 28% of average for the date on Friday, according to state data. This data point marks a meager start to the snow season, and … Read more
Researchers from NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center inspected a 52-foot-long female fin whale that died and washed onto Mission Beach on Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023, in San Diego. K.C. Alfred/AP A massive 52-foot-long fin whale, an endangered species, was found dead Sunday at Pacific Beach on the north end of San Diego. While it’s not … Read more
“Snowfall during all El Niño winters (January-March) compared to the 1991-2020 average (after the long-term trend has been removed). Blue colors show more snow than average; brown shows less snow than average,” a description of the map reads from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. NOAA’s Climate.gov map is based on ERA5 data from 1959-2023 analyzed by … Read more