24 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY FEBRUARY 16-22, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com impacts. It’s in the eyes of the beholder. It’s ultimately all weather. Blier: We might say something like “pleasant weather,” or “a day on which people might enjoy being outside.” It’s all subjective. We provide the forecast, you provide the valuation. Let’s talk about the recent winter storms. How do you convey to the public that severe (not “bad”) weather is coming? Garcia: We send out email briefings highlighting weather threats potentially coming in five to seven days. As the threat becomes more impactful, the more critical the forecast becomes. For example, if we are talking more rain in the Salinas River watershed—what’s that going to do if the river is already close to going into flood stage? Our phones were ringing nonstop with media requests. We did everything from the Morgan Hill Times to the BBC. Santa Cruz County had us on calls up to six times a day. Blier: I counted at the end. We did 19 briefings with emergency management partners in one day, and that’s just during waking hours. Overnight, we continued to get calls. There was a lot of emergency messaging to the public and the press during those storms. How do you relay the weather forecast to the decision-makers who might take steps like closing roads? Garcia: Having a meteorologist in areas of highest impact is critical for us to accomplish our mission, which is simply protection of life and property. [During the recent winter storms] we had a meteorologist embedded in the Monterey County Department of Emergency Management. Ultimately what they message is up to our partner agencies. What we message is the data: “OK, here’s what the forecast is.” At times, we will be shoulder to shoulder, talking about a worst-case scenario [like the December-January storms]. This doesn’t happen every year—and even if it doesn’t happen this year, which it didn’t—this is a great opportunity to exercise your personal response to a disaster. It is an opportunity to really get the attention of the public around here, and say, this is a plausible worst-case scenario. You also deploy meteorologists to other places during extreme weather, where staffing is needed. Garcia: Matt Mehle from our office volunteered to go up to the Tubbs Fire in 2017. A typical deployment is two weeks. It might not be wartime PTSD, but there is legitimate weather PTSD. I was in the Sonoma County [Emergency Operations Center] in 2017 after the Tubbs Fire killed 22 people. I went back into the EOC eight months later, and felt every bit of it—I almost lost it when I walked in. When people talk about weather, whether people say “thanks” or “hey, you guys suck,” our staff feels it all. At the end of the day, we’re human. We get worn out as well. One of the important things to remember is we live here too; we are just as impacted by the weather. After all that rain in January, is California still in a drought? Garcia: There is a difference between long-term and short-term drought. Larger redwoods aren’t back to 2005 conditions, since the 2012-to2016 drought. It would take sustained years of above-normal precipitation to recharge aquifers to help give large timber the chance to be healthy and saturated again. What’s your favorite weather movie: L.A. Story or Groundhog Day? Garica: [No hesitation.] Twister. Do you have a favorite forecast? Garcia: I got into weather because of surfing. I wanted to know where to surf and when. So my favorite forecast is light offshore winds with nice, clean swell rolling in. I don’t care if it’s sunny or cloudy. Blier: I don’t have favorite weather, I just watch the weather. Meteorology is a field that seems to attract an unusually large number of people who, for whatever reason, are absolutely fascinated by the weather going back into childhood. I don’t know why, but going back to early elementary school days, I liked all things that had to do with science and nature, but I always had this particular fascination with weather. “Weather is a shared experience among everyone on this planet.” New to Medicare soon? Get the information you need to make good decisions about your health coverage! Call to learn more about our FREE service in your area! 800-434-0222 Join our In-Person Presentation: Scholze Park (Monterey Senior Center) Wednesday, February 22 at 1pm King City Library Friday, March 17 1pm (English), 3pm (Spanish) This project was supported, in part, by grant number 90SAPG0094-03-00 from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official Administration for Community Living policy. www.allianceonaging.org Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program - ‘HICAP’ MEDICARE QUESTIONS? Visit our website to download Clean Wood Burning Tips mbard.org | 831.647.9411 BURN DRY FIREWOOD TO SAVE MONEY AND HEALTH A properly installed and operated wood-burning stove should produce little smoke. IF YOU MUST BURN WOOD FOR HEAT: REDUCE AIR POLLUTION DON'T DAMPER DOWN ONLY BURN DRY SEASONED WOOD DON'T BURN TRASH
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