[californiadisasters] End of La Niña Could Bring Rain Later This Month

Tuesday's showers barely registered, but shifting weather patterns may break the persistent dry spell


By David Sneed | San Luis Obispo Tribune

Published: Wednesday, Feb. 08, 2012

Updated: 12:33 am Wednesday, Feb. 08, 2012

The sprinkling of rain that came Tuesday did little to alleviate San Luis Obispo County's dry conditions, but a change in the long-term weather pattern may bring some relief.
David Sneed The Tribune

A more normal wet winter weather pattern should begin to develop later this month as a persistent La Niña breaks down, said John Lindsey, PG&E community relations specialist.

The La Niña phenomenon is characterized by lower surface temperatures in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. This often drives the Pacific storm track to the north, resulting in drought conditions in the southern part of the country.

With the La Niña starting to end, "the storm track should shift southward and we could get more storms over California," said Lindsey, who has more than 20 years of forecasting experience on the Central Coast.

Unfortunately, the return of conditions that typically produce wetter weather would come at the tail end of the winter rainy season in March and April, when precipitation levels normally begin to fall off.

"I don't know if this will be enough to get us back to normal rainfall amount," Lindsey said. "Any rain will be very welcome."

Seasonal rainfall totals at many locations in the county are less than half of normal.

Today will mark a return to the dry, sunny weather that has characterized this winter. Building high pressure will lead to temperatures in the high 60s to low 70s in San Luis Obispo on Thursday and Friday before cooling occurs this weekend. No rain is in the forecast for the next week.

Unfortunately, the return of conditions that typically produce wetter weather would come at the tail end of the winter rainy season in March and April, when precipitation levels normally begin to fall off.

Source: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2012/02/07/1939226/la-nina-rain-winter-weather.html#top










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