California drought: Rare good news as storms move in, and El Niño conditions are emerging in Pacific [View all]

[Brother Buzz]

California drought: Rare good news as storms move in, and El Niño conditions are emerging in Pacific

By Paul Rogers
San Jose Mercury News
22 Feb 2014


Here's something you haven't heard much around California during the past 14 months: Get out your umbrellas.

Forecasters say significant rain is in the future -- both this week and possibly next winter, with computer models showing promising signs of an El Niño, the phenomenon when Pacific Ocean waters warm up, often bringing wet winters to California.

It's a double dose of positive news for the drought-stricken state. While predicting weather too far into future is still unreliable, this week's storm system charging in from the Pacific Ocean is a safer bet: The storm is expected to hit the Bay Area on Wednesday afternoon, bringing up to four days of steady rain that meteorologists say should provide a desperately needed soaking.

"It's pretty promising. All the computer models are in agreement, and that's a really good sign," said Duane Dykema, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Monterey. "It looks like we'll get a series of storms with widespread rainfall."

Rainfall should vary from 2 to 5 inches across much of the Bay Area and the rest of the state, he said, with 2 to 3 feet of new snow in the Sierra Nevada.

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http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_25208082/california-drought-rare-good-news-storms-move-and