The abnormal and unusually persistent high pressure ridge off California that has blocked rainfall is gone, replaced by low pressure. This opens the door for El Nino storms to come barreling in. In addition the El Nino is now so strong there is no chance it will dissipate. California, get ready… It looks to be a deluge.
The Ridiculously Resilient Ridge — as meteorologists and forecasters have dubbed the system because of its unusual persistence — has been absent for more than a month, according to a forecaster with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“The expectations are as we get into Fall and Winter seasons more deeply, we’re going to see a lot more low pressure there, and that will be the more sort of dominant story,” Mantua said.
Eric Boldt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, said low-pressure systems typically accompany El Niño events.
I lived in Los Angeles during two El Ninos. There will be flooding. Houses will slide down hillsides. The crucial thing is that the storms hit northern California where important reservoirs are. But hey, even if rainfall is average in NorCal, it will be a huge improvement
Weather models this year show a 60 percent chance of above-average rainfall in Southern California, but that figure declines farther north, Boldt said.
From the San Francisco Bay Area to Sequoia National Park, there’s a 50 percent chance of above-average rainfall. From Eureka to north of Reno, Nevada, that estimate drops to 33 percent. It’s likely to be drier in the Pacific Northwest and the northern Rocky Mountains.
El Nino may be good for a parched California and Southwest, however areas like Papua New Guinea face serious drought. El Nino giveth and El Nino taketh away.