Is Humboldt a "Climate Refuge?"

People often say that Humboldt County is a climate refuge. But what does that mean? And after Hurricanes Helene and Milton slammed the Southeast—including communities like Asheville, North Carolina, which was also described as a climate refuge—what is still safe in the age of climate-driven megastorms?

Luckily, we have Michael Furniss, local climate nerd, and Troy Nicolini, Meteorologist-In-Charge at US National Weather Service, Eureka, on the show to discuss what is known about how climate change may affect Humboldt County. The good news: We are fortunate to have a very stable climate, even in the face of climate change, and that's not likely to change much. The Pacific is likely to continue to act as our natural air conditioning. The bad news: Warmer temperatures elsewhere are going to increase moisture in the air and energy in storm events, bringing larger and more unpredictable weather. (But nothing like Hurricanes Helene or Milton.)

If we are likely to have desirable weather into the future, what does that mean for future development plans? We will save that for a future episode.

Want to learn more? Check these out!

• Troy Nicolini delivers the Humboldt Bay Symposium Keynote Address: Winds of Change, 2024.
• Is the North Coast a Climate Refuge? Michael Furniss at the Eureka Zoo lecture series, 2019.
• Understanding the 1964 Flood with Michael Furniss. 

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