The U.S. Climate Prediction Center reports further signs of a developing El Niño, which closely resembles conditions preceding some of the strongest El Niños in recent history, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
Strong El Niños have correlated with increased rainfall across much of California, such as in the winters of 1982-83 and 1997-98, which were among the state’s wettest years.
“If the event continues to strengthen (this year), then that’s what we’ll see,” said Mike Halpert, deputy director of the Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen one like this.”
The next several weeks will be crucial for whether this year’s El Niño really delivers, Halpert said.
Strong El Niños have been associated with wetter-than-average conditions in the Americas and drier conditions in Asia and Australia. Strong El Niños tend to have a dramatic impact on commodity prices.
-RW
NOAA's ocean temperature charts for any date from 1996 onwards can be found here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ospo.noaa.gov/Products/ocean/sst/anomaly/index.html
The carts are updated twice a week. Here's the latest update:
http://www.ospo.noaa.gov/data/sst/anomaly2015/anomnight.7.9.2015.gif
Well, I hope they're right!
ReplyDeleteBut you know what REALLY annoys me? After the first day of rain, some moron (all?) TV weatherperson will say "Well of course, this doesn't relieve the drought conditions."
If that reflects the depth of understanding of the average Californian, then...oh...wait...never mind.