Blowin’ in the Wind
Wind is all around us, constantly playing an essential role in life across California and on Earth. But what is wind and what forces are responsible for moving the...
William Selby
William Selby is a native Californian who has explored, researched, and worked in every corner of the Golden State. William has accumulated over 3 decades of experience teaching Geography and Earth Science at Santa Monica College. Since retiring from teaching, his lifelong love and extensive knowledge of the Golden State is reflected in the book as well as in his continued service to academia, geography and the State of California.
Atmospheric Rivers Keep on Flowing
Atmospheric River (AR) has become so popularized in the media, it is now a household term that is sometimes misused and misunderstood. This story tracks the historic atmospheric river...
Making More Waves, 2023-2024
Several of our previous website stories (such as Surfing CalifornIA and Natural History of a Grain of Sand) illustrated how ocean waves have impacted and shaped our Golden State’s...
Cars: Driving and Dividing California
Whether Californians have learned to love or hate them, embrace or reject them, cars have dominated California lives and livelihoods for more than a century. They’ve shaped our state’s...
Offshore Autumn: From Diablos to Santa Anas
Autumn usually blows into California bringing dramatic pressure, wind, and geographic role reversals. Prevailing sea (onshore) breezes that dominated through summer are interrupted by land (offshore) breezes that occasionally...
Navigating El Niño, 2023-2024
You’ve probably heard that strong and potentially historic El Niño conditions have developed in the Pacific as we enter our 2023-2024 winter storm season. But will nature perform as...
Zion vs Yosemite: the Science behind the Splendor
Spectacular Sierra Nevada canyons, such as Yosemite and Kings, and the magnificent high desert canyons sliced found found in Zion national Park motivate and challenge us to learn more about the natural history of our dynamic planet.
Hilary Makes Weather History in Southern California
Here is a different story about the tropical storm that made national news and will live long in California history. Hurricane Hilary was exceptional only for the path it...
Chasing the Desert Superbloom, 2023
Our last two stories illustrated how the storms of 2023 left lasting imprints across our Golden State. Here, we compare and contrast landscapes around Anza Borrego and the Antelope...
Tracking Historic Weather Whiplash in the Winter of 2023
Welcome to California’s latest wild swings in peculiar and occasionally cataclysmic weather patterns, brought to you by the winter of 2023. This story is part of our continuing expansion...
