May gray and June gloom are natural heat shields for Southern California. Researchers say their days may be numbered due to climate change.
Anyone who has shivered through an overcast Memorial Day at the beach knows that Southern California has a tendency to serve up gray days at this time of the year. Locals call it May gray and June gloom. But the heavy-looking gray clouds that blot out the sun aren’t just the bane of beachgoers. They serve an important environmental role.
Even if the clouds clear around midday, as they frequently do, they leave the sun less time to heat up the landscape. When the marine layer is especially deep, some beach spots may struggle to clear, or may not clear at all.The clouds reflect the sun’s radiation away from the Earth’s surface and modulate the exchange of heat between Earth and space. Without the clouds, the loss of moisture from vegetation is hastened, increasing the summer wildfire potential.
Another study in April found the evaporative demand, or atmospheric “thirst,” across much of the western U.S. is increasing. Abatzoglou said the onset of morning low clouds and fog may shift a bit into early May as the storm track shifts northward and California sees drier springs. “What that portends for the dissipation of fog season is, well, foggy,” he added.
The northwest winds contribute to upwelling, where the cold California Current flows southward from Alaska. Surface waters are pushed aside by the winds and are replaced with cold water from the deep. When moist sea breezes blow across this frigid water, the air is chilled and the water vapor condenses into clouds.
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