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- Currently in San Francisco — July 7, 2023: Cool, cloudy day and a windy afternoon
Currently in San Francisco — July 7, 2023: Cool, cloudy day and a windy afternoon
Plus, the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season forecast just got worse.
Eric Holthaus & Priya Shukla
July 06, 2023
The weather, currently.
Cool, cloudy day and a windy afternoon
Many Bay Area lakes (including Lake Chabot, Lake Temescal, Quarry Lakes) have been shut down for activity due to the formation of toxic algae blooms. The recent heatwave helped the blue-green algae (also known as cyanobacteria) population explode so that they are now at “dangerous” levels. Exposure to the toxins (which smell terrible, by the way) via swimming, boating, or fishing can cause health issues including, headaches, skin rashes, and gastro-intestinal illness. So, your best bet is to stay away until authorities give the all clear.
What you can do, currently.
The climate emergency doesn’t take the summer off. In fact — as we’ve been reporting — we’re heading into an El Niño that could challenge historical records and is already supercharging weather and climate impacts around the world.
When people understand the weather they are experiencing is caused by climate change it creates a more compelling call to action to do something about it.
If these emails mean something important to you — and more importantly, if the idea of being part of a community that’s building a weather service for the climate emergency means something important to you — please chip in just $5 a month to continue making this service possible.
Thank you!!
What you need to know, currently.
On Thursday, researchers at Colorado State University released an updated seasonal hurricane forecast for the Atlantic, boosting their outlook to 18 named storms, 9 hurricanes, and 4 major hurricanes — all of which are well above long-term averages.
The forecasters cite record-warm ocean temperatures as the main reason for the worse forecast. “Most of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic now has record warm sea surface temperatures,” they write, which they anticipate will offset the effect from El Niño, which typically creates stronger upper-atmospheric winds that can complicate hurricane formation.
The forecasters give this helpful note to remind coastal residents to start making their hurricane season plans now:
The probability of U.S. major hurricane landfall is estimated to be above the long-period average. As is the case with all hurricane seasons, coastal residents are reminded that it only takes one hurricane making landfall to make it an active season for them.
Climate change has boosted the odds that any given hurricane will reach Category 3 or greater, the most destructive type. Six of the past 7 hurricane seasons have had more hurricanes than the long-term average number of hurricanes per year.
