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Volume 61, Issue 5
Homestead High School 21370 Homestead Rd, Cupertino, CA 95014
March 8, 2024
Warming climate brings larger storms to the Bay Area
Recent atmospheric rivers mean long-term impacts on local climate
By Kevin Miao and Nicole Pimenta Innecco Irregular atmospheric rivers caused by climate change have brought stronger storms to the Bay Area since the start of the new year, leading to power outages, flash floods, tidal waves and infrastructural damage, physics teacher Kathleen Shreve said. Atmospheric rivers are relatively long, narrow regions in the atmosphere – like rivers in the sky – that transport water vapor outside of the tropics. When atmospheric rivers make landfall, they often release this water vapor in the form of rain or snow. The atmospheric river passing through California has been dubbed “The Pineapple Express” and originated in Hawaii, bringing record-breaking amounts of rain to the Bay Area, BBC Weather reported. These rivers create a feedback loop with bomb cyclones: storms that quickly intensify over a short period of time, according to The Guardian. This means the presence of one supercharges the other, and these two types of systems have caused the severe weather changes, Kron4 News meteorologist and specialist in Bay Area weather, Kyla Grogan said. Following the current trajectory of climate change, California could see more extreme weather in the future, another Kron4 News meteorologist John Shrable said. “Scientists are worried that in the long run, if human influence on the environment continues, we could see major changes and water currents in our oceans [and] in climates,” Shrable, who specializes in Bay Area weather, said. “[For] a landscape like California, which is already prone to extremes, those changes could be more noticeable; our storms could be stronger, while our droughts longer.” Climate change has multiple effects on storms, but the most visible are those on atmospheric rivers, Shrable said. With warmer weather, evaporation from oceans increases and the atmosphere can hold more water, drastically increasing the size of atmospheric rivers. Effects of the storms on HHS students include inconveniences such as losing internet or having some roads blocked, senior Elisa Floyd said. However, agricultural communities outside of Silicon Valley experience more drastic impacts because of their dependence on agriculture. “It’s a very different level of effects than what we’re [used to] facing,” Floyd, a Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action Board member, said. “Where we are living, we have the privilege to not be affected by it that much, but we have to think about how it’s affecting other people around us.” The quick turnaround of drought to storm climate exacerbates the effects of the heavy rain, Floyd said.
“Droughts make our soil a lot looser in California, which actually makes how we experience storms worse because our ground can’t absorb the water that we’re now getting through rainfall,” Floyd said. AP environmental science teacher Richard Carmona said these unpredictable changes make preparing for extreme weather conditions a challenge. “During a drought, you look silly using limited resources to build things like drainage ditches and culverts to prepare for floods,” Carmona said. “Politicians, because of election cycles, are very short term in the way they view problems, and choose what’s good in the short term instead of long term solutions. That means we end up with things like landslide issues on Highway 17, which I have to drive every day to get to work.” Flooding is not the only concern from the recent storms. Increased water levels are worrying for coastal communities, Shrable said. “You’ve seen a lot of beach erosion in places like Half Moon Bay,” Shrable said. “Sea level height is getting higher as well, so the Bay Area is going to have to adapt new sea walls, but we are definitely set up better naturally because we are on hills.” Amid all the issues in the world, caring for the environment is something students need to be deeply involved with, Grogan, who specializes in Bay Area weather, said. “We don’t want this to be worse in our lifetime. We want to have clean air, water and all those things,” Grogan said. “Being smart about how we take care of the earth is just a really good idea going forward because there’s no downside to taking better care of the earth, and there certainly could be a lot of upside as we move forward.”
This is a recreation of a bomb cyclone satellite image captured on Feb. 4. The bomb cyclone, which resulted from rapidly-dropping atmospheric pressure, brought strong winds and heavy rainfall to the Bay Area, according to the National Weather Service.
Illustration by Faith Watters
Varsity girls soccer wins CCS championship Team wins trophy for first time in 30 years, reaches NorCal regional semifinals By Saira Ahmed and Nicole Kim What started as a successful soccer season became one for the history books. For the first time in 30 years, varsity girls soccer won the Central Coast Section Division 2 tournament last month. “I’m proud of where we’ve gone as a team because I don’t think any of us knew this was gonna happen,” captain, midfielder Grace McGoran said. “Many of us didn’t [even] know there was a state tournament because the girls have not gone for at least 30 years.” To qualify for CCS, the team had to be in the top three of their league. They were third behind Los Altos High School, who went to Division 1, and Mountain View High School, who went to Division 2 with HHS, McGoran said.
The first CCS game took place on a rainy day, where they beat Salinas High School 2-0 on Feb. 17. “After winning the first game, you get motivation to want to win the whole thing,” McGoran said. They then beat Leland High School 2-0 on Feb. 21. On Feb. 24, they faced Mountain View in the CCS final. MVHS had beaten them twice this season. Head coach Raquel DeJesus said she went in nervous, like everybody else, but gave a pregame talk to help get the nerves out. “I had a feeling deep down that we could do this and we could win it as long as we played our game,” DeJesus said. “And the girls know what I mean when I say ‘our game.’ I ask them every game, ‘How do we play?’ and then they answer it. I just knew going in we were gonna win.” The team beat Mountain View 1-0, making them this year’s Division 2 CCS champions.
Photo by Harshitha Vijayakumar
Varsity girls soccer celebrates their Central Coast Section win. Their actual CCS trophy is in the student center’s trophy case.
See Girls soccer CCS, page 14
Opinion
Lifestyles
Arts & Culture
Sports
Redefining STEM gender norms: Women in science and technology need adequate resources Page 5
Inspiring through a phone lens: Content creator hopes to make a positive impact on her followers Page 10
The horrors beyond the wall: ‘Zone of Interest’ unveils the everyday evils of Nazi Germany Page 13
Blowing the final whistle: Six football coaches depart, leaving deep cultural legacy Page 14
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