Despite two powerful storms in October and early November, meteorologists are predicting a mild La Niña winter for Californians with forecasts stretching into the next month or two.
Due to new advancements in science and technology, it's becoming easier for weather experts to provide long-range forecasting, perhaps eventually months out at a time.
"The typical rainfall pattern that we see in the west with La Niña, is that we see Southern California is drier than normal and the Pacific Northwest is wetter than normal," Jan Null the meteorologist with Golden Gate Weather Services told KCBS Radio.
Closer to the equator, La Niña is bringing a potentially low to moderate rainy season, but that can change.
"We can go back and look at the historical records with some back to back La Niñas," Null said. "The most recent one was not that long ago in 2016-17, that winter was a La Niña and most say that was a very wet winter."
It's affecting things statewide. Three weeks ago, Heavenly and NorthStar ski resorts said they would open early this year in time for Thanksgiving. But a lot of the snow that fell in October has melted off, and now the resorts have pushed their openings until after Thanksgiving.
It's especially troubling for the state's ongoing drought. Water agencies elated by last month's record-breaking rainfall are back to rolling the dice, hoping the wet weather wasn't a fluke.
Related
