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Hopes for rain drying up in Valley: “El Nino is El Wimpo,” says Bill Patzert: “He’s late. He’s stunted. He’s definitely not the great wet hope.”

Posted by: Maven on June 30, 2009 at 7:15 am

Last week, when the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center announced an El Nino condition forming in the Pacific, there have been numerous stories, most of which have been rather optimistic. And so, from the Contra Costa Times, yet another story on El Nino:

… weather forecasters are keenly watching the warming Pacific current that could spell dark clouds in the fall. In 1997-98, El Nino dumped 31 inches across the Southland.

“Nobody is rooting for a stronger El Nino than I am,” said Michael Anderson, climatologist for the state Department of Water Resources. “We are scrambling year to year to try to find enough water. Trust me, I would love to see rain. I am hoping.”

But what could kill an El Nino is the weather condition blamed for the drought. Climatologists say a system of currents known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, or PDO, could overpower the warming trend and parch the Southland.

El Nino or no El Nino, that is the question. And if so, will it be rain or no rain? “We’re still trying to figure it out,” said Bill Hoffer, a weather specialist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. “If we get one, it generally means moisture, but not necessarily.”

Read the full text of this article from the Contra Costa Times by clicking here.

June 30, 2009 · Filed Under Drought, Weather & Snowpack

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