Low Off California Brings Heavy Rain To L.A. – National Weather Outlook For December 21, 2023

by | Dec 21, 2023 | Weather

National Weather Forecast

The big story on Thursday will be the area of low pressure off the California coast, pumping copious amounts of rain into the Southwest. This is leading to a heightened flash flood threat across southern California. An area of low pressure in the central U.S. will lead to some scattered showers from Chicagoland to Texas.

The heaviest rain through Friday will fall across portions of southern California, where some mountainous and foothill areas could see upward of 10” of rain within just three days.

Several inches of snow will be possible through the end of the week in the Cascades and Rockies with maybe an additional foot in the southern Sierra.

_______________________________________________

Suddenly, US electricity demand is spiking. Can the grid keep up?

More from Canary Media: “For the past two decades, demand for electricity across the United States has hardly increased. But those dynamics appear to have dramatically reversed — and U.S. electric utilities, regulators and power grid planners aren’t prepared to deal with this new paradigm of surging electricity demand. That’s the key takeaway from a new report by consultancy Grid Strategies called The Era of Flat Power Demand Is Over. Already, massive amounts of clean energy projects are stuck waiting for grid expansions to happen so they can connect. Soon enough, data centers, factories, electric-vehicle charging depots and other major electricity users could start facing the same barriers, the report warns. In the past year, estimates from U.S. utilities and grid operators of how much electricity demand will grow over the next five years have nearly doubled, jumping from 2.6 percent to 4.7 percent, according to Grid Strategies’ analysis. That’s far higher than the more incremental 0.5 percent annual demand growth estimates of the past decade.”

How can California solve its water woes? By flooding its best farmland.

More from Grist: “The land of the Central Valley works hard. Here in the heart of California, in the most productive farming region in the United States, almost every square inch of land has been razed, planted, and shaped to support large-scale agriculture. The valley produces almonds, walnuts, pistachios, olives, cherries, beans, eggs, milk, beef, melons, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and garlic. This economic mandate is clear to the naked eye: Trucks laden with fertilizer or diesel trundle down arrow-straight roads past square field after square field, each one dense with tomato shrubs or nut trees. Canals slice between orchards and acres of silage, pushing all-important irrigation water through a network of laterals from farm to farm. Cows jostle for space beneath metal awnings on crowded patches of dirt, emitting a stench that wafts over nearby towns.”

The perils of an electric car holiday road trip

More from Axios: “Getting over the river and through the woods might be challenging this holiday season if the sleigh you’re driving is an electric vehicle. Why it matters: EVs are growing in popularity, including among rental fleets. Featuring the latest gizmos and technologies, EVs are fun to drive and surprisingly spacious, making for a delightful way to travel. But without proper preparation, inexperienced EV drivers could face some unwanted travel surprises during a season that’s already pretty stressful.”

_______________________________________________

Follow me on:

Thanks for checking in and have a great day!

– D.J. Kayser