El Nino may soak California this winter
Skiers, surfers and rafters take heart: Scientists say this winter will bring more snow, rain and bigger waves than the last few years.
“It should be a good ski season, particularly in late winter,” says Wayne Higgins, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist. A mild El Nino weather pattern building in the equatorial Pacific Ocean could shove warm water north from Central America, scientists say.
Extra rain often results when warm water collides with cold fronts. That could ease, though not end, the drought gripping California and the West, says Tim Barnett, climate researcher at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Computer models forecast El Nino will generate bigger winter waves, heavy snowfall and warm skiing conditions, surging spring whitewater, vivid wildflower blooms and more water in lakes and streams for fish.
“It’s a rather mild one [El Nino], but there’s no doubt that it’s happening now and will continue to through fall and winter,” Barnett says.
-- Charles Duhigg
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