News

“Climate whiplash” is the new normal for California, experts say

June 5, 2023
Left: A snow park restroom is partially buried in snow after a series of atmospheric river storms on January 20, 2023 near South Lake Tahoe, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) Right: A stump of a tree stands in a plowed-over almond orchard during a severe drought warning on July 5, 2022, in Porterville, California. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Recent studies indicate that California must prepare for both worsening drought and more intermittent, heavier rainfall in the face of climate change. In this piece for Yale Climate Connections, Energy Innovation’s Sarah Spengeman and AGCI’s Elise Osenga explore how extreme weather swings are likely to become the state’s new normal as precipitation patterns are altered by rising temperatures.