Wednesday, January 19, 2011

[californiadisasters] La Niña's Effects in CA Have Been Muted Thus far, Experts say



The climatological phenomenon usually brings dry periods to the state. But California has been experiencing record rainfall and snow, leading some to question whether the La Niña forecasts were a bust.

New satellite data released by NASA on Thursday show that the Pacific Ocean is in the grips of one of the strongest La Niña weather systems in the last 50 years, bringing deadly flooding to Australia.

But La Niña's effects in California and the West Coast have so far been muted, and experts are not exactly sure why.

The climatological phenomenon, marked by cooler-than-normal sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, usually brings heavy rainfall to places such as Australia, Indonesia, Brazil and Colombia while bringing unusually dry periods to California and the southern United States.

California, however, has been experiencing record rainfall and snow, leading some to question whether the La Niña forecasts were a bust.

Forecasters say the NASA data — and the Australia flooding — show La Niña is clearly a major force this year. And they said it's still possible that the rest of the winter will be unusually dry in California. Since 1949, more than 80% of La Niñas have produced dry winters in Southern California.

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View entire article here: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-la-nina-20110114,0,4513689.story

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