Currently in Portland — November 9th, 2023: Rain on Thursday

The weather, currently.

We’ve gotten a fair amount of sunshine this week so far, and I’m trying to remember how I organize my days every fall—keeping an eye out the window to time my chores and walks for dry moments. We’ll be getting more rain on Thursday, and Thursday night. In fact, we’ll be seeing a lot of rain the next few days.

I love seeing clever ways to bring attention to the climate crisis, and right now the #ClimateCryptids on Instagram are my favorite. (Try starting with Mothman.) This campaign is a great example of avoiding the typical doom and gloom messaging, and instead grabbing people’s attention in a fun way.

— Stella Harris

What you need to know, currently.

According to the latest US drought monitor, California is now entirely drought-free for the first time since early 2020 — thanks to a series of beneficial rains brought in part by Hurricane Hilary and a growing El Niño.

Almost every major lake and reservoir in the state is currently filled higher than normal — a rarity for California in this era of megadrought. Some areas of the Sierra Nevada mountain range are more than 20 inches ahead in 2023 alone. The state also made it through peak wildfire season with hardly any major threats, thanks mostly to the wet soil.

In fact, state officials have begun to release extra capacity from California reservoirs to hold heavy rains that might come with El Niño this winter. The first potential atmospheric river of the season could arrive as early as this weekend.

— Eric Holthaus

What you can do, currently.

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