This article in the Christian Science Monitor constitutes a rare journalistic attempt at discussing risk management related to climate change in the context of an extreme weather event – the recent 150+ mph Santa Ana winds.
My hunch is that the journalist goes astray in suggesting that the winds will weaken as global warming heats up cold Great Basin air, which drives them. Although the atmosphere will heat up on average, including the Great Basin, climate change could alter the arctic polar vortex in such a way that extremely cold arctic air could be driven more forcefully southward in the winter, actually heightening the potential for violent wind storms.
The unseasonably strong Santa Ana winds that have pounded southern California during the past two days have left hundreds of thousands of residents without power, not to mention closed schools and businesses. Many counties are on emergency footing and even Griffith Park, one of the nation’s largest urban parks, has closed as crews struggle to clear fallen trees and debris away from power lines and off roads.
But the extreme winds – the strongest in at least a decade – have also raised the familiar question: Are they one more indication of global warming’s larger trend toward extreme weather?
The answer is no. Mostly.
Hurricane-force Santa Ana winds: Another sign of global warming? – CS Monitor