San Diego under water

USD shares thoughts on the historically rainy season

KYLIE DURHAM / ASST. NEWS EDITOR / THE USD VISTA

For a city that markets itself as one of the “sunniest” places in California, San Diego has recently been hit hard with heavy rainfall. Dating back to the month of December, the city has faced multiple storms including heavy rainfall, strong gusts of wind and all-around colder temperatures. As with all geographical locations, there is never a promise as to what the weather will bring, but for sunny San Diego, the rain is a drastic change from the typical, warm spring weather.

To provide a deeper understanding of where these rainstorms stem from, Professor Paul Kemp of the Biology Department shared his knowledge on the subject matter.

“This season of late winter rains has been almost unprecedented. California has been hit by 12 (or 13) so-called Atmospheric Rivers. This occurs when a cold, low pressure system rolls down the Pacific Coast from Alaska, and the South East trailing part of the system ‘pulls’ warm, moisture-laden air from the subtropical Pacific Ocean into the cold air. This creates large amounts of condensation and rain.”

According to the California Water Watch, the 2022-2023 Water Year, which is a scale that measures the amount of precipitation from overall rainfall, currently sits at “28.45 inches which is roughly 10 inches more than the Historical Record average at 18.95 inches.” Compared to previous years, this year’s rainfall is some of the highest that California has seen in a while, especially for those living in central and southern California. Kemp revealed the impacts of these continuous storms to the coast.

“Most of the atmospheric rivers have been aimed right at the Central California Coast causing tremendous rainfall, with much flooding, as well as damage from the high winds associated with these storms,” Kemp said. “As these storms move inland they are still carrying a lot of moisture that falls as snow at higher elevations where the temperatures are below freezing, producing dozens of feet of snow in the Sierras. These snow events have been quite significant in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles, where several back-to-back snow events produced up to 12 feet of snow.”

These surplus quantities of snow and rain appear daunting to those trying to navigate highways and busy cities, but they’ve proven to be valuable additions to this year’s drought problems. In a recent statement from the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, California’s governor announced the benefits of the current rainy season pertaining to California’s drought problem.

“Governor Gavin Newsom today rolled back some drought emergency provisions that are no longer needed due to current water conditions, while maintaining other measures that support regions and communities still facing water supply challenges, and that continue building up long-term water resilience.”

The snow also has drastically increased, with some ski resorts planning to stay open until June. Kemp shared his thoughts about the high records of snow.

“I like hearing about records that are broken by such weather, such as Mammoth Mountain receiving more than 800 inches of snow at the summit this winter,” Kemp said. “I think a few other California ski areas had record or near-record single snow events or snow accumulations.”

Despite all of the benefits the rain is bringing to San Diego, the damage from these winds and rain is something that has been impacting the USD community. Some students are struggling to manage the unexpected weather turnout. USD junior Camden Crook found herself in a tough situation before the school year even started due to the excess rain. 

“The first couple weeks before school we had a massive amount of rainfall in San Diego. I am living off campus on Mission Beach this semester, and my roommates and I were actually kicked out of our house because of the rain. The excessive rainfall uncovered a mold problem within the walls of our home. We had to leave of course, and it forced all six of us to couch surf the first week of school, which was brutal. This past week of rain has just brought back those memories of being evicted. So has the rain done much good? In many ways, yes it has. But for my friends and I? I would say no, it has not.”

For USD senior Zoe DeBroux, the issues of the rainfall are negatively impacting her last couple months living in San Diego.

“I think the biggest problem for me is the flooding,” DeBroux said. “I live and work in South Mission Beach, and the flooding on the streets as well as any pedestrian area is pretty intense, in fact it makes the boardwalk pretty unwalkable. Where I work, we have had to close for multiple days before just because there is three feet of standing water on the ground, which is pretty crazy and unlike anything I have seen before.”

Despite the issues of flooding, DeBroux weighed the pros and cons of all the rainfall.

“I think it is awesome for the plants and San Diego, especially since we are in a drought right now. I think it is great that in some ways we are able to mitigate that with a lot more water. The downside is that it is pretty evident San Diego infrastructure isn’t the best or made for a lot of rain. There has been a lot of flooding everywhere. It is also a bummer that it messes with the normal, sunny beach days we experience in March. A lot of us, myself included, are ready to have some much warmer days.”

The current season of rain may have been unexpected for most San Diego residents, but that is not to say some are not making the most of the situation. DeBroux shared what she has been doing in an attempt to turn a rainy day around.

“I have been going on rain runs, which has been a new sort of fun. I have just been turning all my outdoor activities into a rain run, walk or whatever it is, and just fully embracing and accepting it,” Debroux said. “I also think it has been so helpful for my productivity, because if it is really gross outside, all I can do is stay in and get work done, so it helps.”

Crook had similar thoughts on the matter, also mentioning how her study habits have altered recently.

“I have to tell myself to think happy thoughts. But honestly, my studying has improved a lot. I think the bad weather has encouraged me to study more, because the outside is so awful, so the inside by default is more appealing. I have spent a lot more time in the library this week than I have in the past couple years. I don’t know exactly if that is because of the rain, but I think it is,” Crook said.

The wet weather is something that no one living in sunny San Diego planned for, yet there may be a silver lining to the significant increase in rain. A “superbloom” is potentially in California’s future because of the surplus quantity of rain. According to National Geographic, a “superbloom” occurs when there is an overabundance of rainfall for a lengthy period of time, similar to what California is witnessing right now. 

The result of this bloom would bring about a plethora of wildflowers, ranging anywhere from Poppies to Sunflowers, to mostly undisturbed habitats, creating beautiful scenery over the California Landscape.

Kemp shared his opinion on how he feels of a potential superbloom occurring.

“I think there will be some very significant floral blooms in Southern California coastal areas this year. I also think they will peak about a month later than the “famous superbloom” of March 2019 in Southern California. I hope that people will behave much better than they did in 2019, when they trampled all over many of the best flower areas. In fact, at least one of those areas, Walker Canyon, which had spectacular floral displays, is closed to people this year.”

With the Spring time officially upon San Diego, there is hope that these dreaded, consistent rainfalls will bring about a glorious bloom. Already claimed as the most beautiful campuses in the nation, USD students and faculty are sure to enjoy their beautiful school among the rolling green and colorful hills of San Diego, especially once the sunshine returns. Many at USD hope these April showers (and March, February, January and December showers) will indeed bring the “superblooming” May flowers.