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That sounds wonderful to me. I didn't mind our winters when they had predicted El Nino. It may not be pleasant in some areas of the country, but it definitely made winter more tolerable up here.
It may be more pleasant, however here in the Pacific Northwest we depend on a healthy snowpack for the majority of our drinking water, and power generation needs, and without that healthy snowpack it could turn into a very dire situation next summer....
I know how El Nino effects Australia and NZ (more drier, sunnier but cooler temperatures) but how does it effect the USA? Does it bring more rain/storms to California and drier conditions to the Pacific Norwest?
Yes, more rain and storms for California, and drier conditions for the Pacific Northwest.
Location: somewhere close to Tampa, but closer to the beach
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Yes everyone..it is true..and all of us weather geeks should gear up for some interesting weather ahead..
As many of you may have seen earlier on this year, id posted a thread on the possibility of one evolving again..and whoa la,,looks like this one could get even more interesting as things progress..
I read an article on another weather page saying that If this episode does pan out,..and comes on strong, it may equal or even surpass what was seen 12 years back...so, get ready...and for everyone here collecting data on daily temps., and such..it will be interesting to see data sometime next year on how this one follows previous episodes..what with all the talk about advancing global warming...will it become a player in this up coming performance????... Calling all cast members..we are nearing curtain call...can you feel the excitement and electricity beginning to gather..
This will likely be a weak El Nino which will have little influence on the winter weather pattern. If it strengthens to a moderate episode then the impacts will be a little more significant. I am expecting a colder than average winter for the Great Lakes and the Northeast as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation has flipped into its negative phase. The sunspot minimum will also hold temperatures down a bit as well.
Yes, more rain and storms for California, and drier conditions for the Pacific Northwest.
Ah thanks. What about San Francisco? I'm going there in September/October for 2 weeks. As I believe that Los Angeles (or southern California) usually gets the brunt of the El Nino weather but San Francisco not much?
Location: somewhere close to Tampa, but closer to the beach
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Oh trust me, the bay area gets the full force of El Nino...just a little later on in the fall..
The factor which influences the overall effects in L.A. vrs. say San Francisco is that on average, L.A. gets much less rain in an average year..which makes an event which might be just a little above normal rainfall-wise up here, quite significant down south...This factor combined with aspects of topography, and the general vegetation patterns/ habitats further south combine to make a serious El Nino event potentially dangerous down in So. Cal.
It was during a moderate El Nino event in the 90's (excluding 97, i was in KS. for that event) that a wind gust of 103 mph was recorded in the neighborhood i was living in..I watched the tops of several huge Sycomores down by the creek across the street snap during this event..and a sea gull struggle to stay in the air just outside our living room window..pretty weird stuff...
Thanks si33. I'm looking forward to being in San Fran. once again although it's my first time to visit during fall. Los Angeles got hit by some powerful El Nino storms in the 90's judging by youtube clips.
Last edited by koyaanisqatsi1; 07-11-2009 at 01:04 AM..
Location: somewhere close to Tampa, but closer to the beach
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I forgot to mention that IF you are lucky..and this is sometimes brought up to us thanks to a developing El Nino..you might get the chance to experience a RARE..CA. thunderstorm event on your visit..the type we rarely experience where you get lots of fantastic lightning over a period of several hours..and a nice downpour..
Such events have occurred in Sept or Oct in 90, 93, 94, 97, 99 and i can remember my babysitter making us go into the house when we got a storm back in 82.. Most of these years revolved around some degree of an E.N event...except 99..but that is one of the few exceptions i have witnessed..with the September 1990 event being one of the best ive seen occur here..
Most of the time, any t-storms we are lucky enough to receive are dry..meaning very little precip..and that is when the light show gets people here a bit on edge..due to he fire threat..
It certainly would be nice to experience a Californian fall storm .
What about those infamous Santa Ana winds? It's a hot and dry wind isnt it? Are they common throughout fall? I've seen the news on TV when bush-fires have been raging in California and always seem to hear the word "Santa Ana" winds being mentioned quite a lot in those cases. I wouldn't mind experiencing one (temporary mind you!) just for the sake of "feeling" it to compare it with our hot and dry NW wind.
There are three (main) areas in the world that are very prone to hot and dry windy conditions causing bush-fires to rage out of control - Australia (mainly S and E but can affect all other areas too), California and the south of France.
Ah yes the infamous 1982-1983 El Nino caused much devastation mainly in the eastern half of Australia as rains failed from autumn (mainly from April 1982 onwards) and didn't end until March 1983. In February 1983, a huge dust-storm swept across Melbourne.
Click on the link to see pictures of the dust-storm:
Several Adelaide stations in South Australia during a severe and prolonged heatwave in January 1982 recorded record "high" minimums of 35oC (95oF).
Thousands of livestock perished, dams ran empty, farmers walked off the land and lush, green farmlands were turned into brown and dry deserts, it affected New Zealand too with dry, windy and sunny weather in the north and east of both islands but wetter, windier and cloudier conditions to the west and south of the South Island, along with cooler temperatures.
Normally dry areas of South America (and California as well) areas got pummeled by storms, heavy rains and flooding.
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