‘June Gloom’ May Last All Summer

Southern California may not shake off its seasonal “June gloom” weather for the entire summer, scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory said Thursday.

The marine layer that hovers over the Los Angeles Basin every June appears to be poised to linger throughout the summer due to a large area of abnormally cool water off the North American coast, according to scientists studying ocean measurements from the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite.

“Our data certainly show that the unusual oceanic climatic conditions that gave rise to the El Nino and La Nina are not returning to a normal state,” said oceanographer William Patzert of JPL.

“Instead,” he said, “our planet’s climate system continues to exhibit rather wild behavior.

The satellite reports show unusually cool water extending from the Gulf of Alaska along the North American coast, sweeping southwestward from Baja California, where it merges with the remnants of La Nina, Patzert said.