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Dean and the Weather

March 29, 2022

Best-Selling Author, Weather Enthusiasts Explain Allure of California Weather

In the city of Los Angeles, every time the heavens open up, the hashtag #LArain trends on Twitter. People say rain, and the weather in general, is different in California. Anyone who has lived in the Desert Southwest long enough is fascinated by the rare appearance of rain and the wonder of a storm.

Every wind gust and raindrop is big news in L.A. In Arizona, the monsoon comes and goes every year like clockwork. But what precisely is different about rain in the desert? To find out, we asked a bestselling author, a storm chaser and TV meteorologists who have known both coasts.

From his home in Southern California, Dean Koontz, the bestselling author whose latest novel Quicksilver was published in January, has written dozens of books in which the weather adds to the suspense. According to Google Books Ngram Viewer, he mentions weather terms a total of 168 times in his book Midnight, 165 times in The Taking and 158 times in the aptly titled Lightning.

Koontz spent roughly half his life on the East Coast before he moved to California and that has given him an appreciation for the unique weather in the state. Why does weather feature prominently in his novels? Koontz told AccuWeather via email he uses the frequently changing Southern California weather as a template to set the scene.

“Here in Southern California, I can be basking in a light 80-degree off-shore breeze and, within two hours be in the snow country in Big Bear, be on the seashore in the morning and in Death Valley in the afternoon,” Koontz said. “The extremes fascinate me and make for good dramatic effects in fiction.”

Read the full article @ Newsweek.com