A Traveler's Guide to the Weather — The West Coast and Southwest

PART 3 – The West Coast and Southwest

A weatherman’s guide to dealing with the conditions you’ll run across when traveling to the West Coast and the Southwest United States. 

Included in this section:

• California – North, South, Coast, Mountains…all of it
• Northwest – Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia
• Southwest – Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah

Fast Facts:

• The Pacific Coast Highway is a north-south route that stretches 1,650 from the Olympic Peninsula in Washington to San Diego, California, and it a must-do activity for road-trippers. (https://roadtrippers.com/destinations/pacific-coast-highway/#Map)
• In 2022, Los Angeles saw 46.2 million tourists visit the city, with an astonishing $34.5 billion in revenue as a direct result. (https://www.discoverlosangeles.com/business)
• The Grand Canyon is one mile deep and over 16 miles wide at some points along its stretch. (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/national-parks/article/most-visited-parks-photos)
• Oregon is the 10^th largest state in the United States, spanning 98,380 square miles.  (https://industry.traveloregon.com/press-room/oregon-fast-facts/)

 

The West is yet another region that is hard to group together because of its various climates, topography, and wildlife. After all, skiing country in Mammoth Lakes and one of the hottest deserts in the world, Death Valley, are only separated 170 miles in California.

For this same reason, it attracts millions each year. From wildfires to monsoon season to unbearable heat, we’ve got you covered with this comprehensive analysis of the Wild West’s Weather.

Heatwaves

Obviously southern California and the Southwest is no stranger to summertime heat. But it’s not just the south that experiences the brunt.

In 2021, the Pacific Northwest saw a monumental heatwave that lasted two weeks. Seattle surpassed 100°F three days in a row, including 108°F on June 28^th. Lytton, British Columbia, reached 121.3°F. An estimated 1,400 died as a result of the heat, and devastating wildfires killed even more in the weeks after the heat ended.

Now, it’s true to say that this event was exceedingly rare. A study done in conjunction by UCLA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) shows that this was a 1-in-10,000 year event – a freak incident that isn’t only generational, but spans eras.

Yet climate change has increased temperatures in the Pacific Northwest by three degrees Fahrenheit since 1960, making heat waves (even extremes like 2021) more likely.

Earlier this summer, California already saw a heat wave that brought 110°F+ temperatures for over a week. Temperatures have since cooled, but the West is not out of the woods al season.

In California, temperatures are expected to remain relatively warm over the remaining summer months, with a couple of heat waves possible. This will occur when the heat dome over Mexico drifts northward, like it did in early July.

The biggest risk of recurring heat waves will fall in the southwest, where current conditions of  La Niña and the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) have historically shown anonymously warm temperatures.  

The Pacific Northwest and far coastal areas of the entire West have equal chances for temperature departure for the rest of the season, so any beach trips you’ve planned should be temperate.

Monsoon Season

Monsoon Season in Northern Arizona typically spans from mid-June through September 30^th. It occurs when intense heating of the Earth’s surface causes the trade winds to shift to the south and southeast.  

This shift brings tropical moisture from the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California into the region for many of the summer months. The monsoon season is welcomed by many farmers and residents but can be overwhelming if too much rain falls on dry surfaces. This makes for a great flash flood risk whenever the skies decide they’ll open up.

This year, the monsoon season is expected to be less active than usual, meaning less rainfall expected. That’s thanks to a forming La Niña, which causes drier and hotter conditions in the desert southwest.

While this may be great news to any vacationers to the Grand Canyon or Phoenix, it isn’t great news for the region’s agriculture. Drought Conditions have already began to form in northern Arizona, with conditions expected to worsen over the next six months. Far southern New Mexico and southwestern Texas are in Extreme Drought conditions. 

Wildfire Risks

Perhaps the biggest concerns when living or traveling to the west coast are wildfires.

California is subject to wildfires because of the arid summer climate and the dry vegetation that cover a large chunk of the state. This was especially true in the 2010s and early 2020s, when over 2/3s of the state was drier than usual and drought prevailed for over a decade. The result was the historic 2018 wildfire season that killed 103 people and the 2020 season that burned 4.3 million acres.

The drought conditions drastically improved the winter of 2022-2023, however, when El Niño sent a surplus of rain and snowfall to central and southern California. The Sierra Nevada Snowpack reached 300% of annual average, and the melt in the spring filled rivers and tributaries across the California coast.

The trend continued in ‘23-’24, and California is drought free for the first time in four years, and the best conditions since 2011.

This summer will still be dry, and while the season will be delayed, wildfires may form in August and last through October and early November. Luckily, a below-average number of fires and damages are forecasted.

Tropical Systems

An unlikely headline when tallying about the West Coast, but one that deserves some coverage. That’s because Hurricane Hilary impacted southern California in August 2023 – one of just a handful of storms to ever do so in history.

That’s because waters are so cool off West Coast that they usually destroy hurricanes that enter their domain. Hilary was an anomaly because it hugged the warmer coastline and encountered minimal wind shear.  

This year, fewer Pacific Hurricanes are expected because of – yet again – La Niña. This causes cooler ocean temperatures in the equatorial pacific, which dampen the risk of hurricanes.

Let’s hope the hurricane season won’t be much of a problem for L.A. this year…as it shouldn’t be.