A long anticipated El Nino has finally arrived. But for drought-struck California, it’s too little, too late, meteorologists say.
The National Weather Service on Thursday proclaimed the phenomenon is now in place. It’s a warming of a certain patch of the central Pacific that changes weather patterns worldwide, associated with flooding in some places, droughts elsewhere, a generally warmer globe, and fewer Atlantic hurricanes. El Ninos are usually so important that economists even track them because of how they affect commodities.
But this is a weak, weird and late version of El Nino, so don’t expect too many places to feel its effects, said Mike Halpert, deputy director of the weather service’s Climate Prediction Center.
There’s about a 50 to 60 percent chance the El Nino will continue through the summer, NOAA predicts.
In previous years, El Niño has ferried more moisture toward Southern California, although the extent of its influence on regional weather has been debated.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/science/article/El-Nino-finally-here-but-this-1-is-weak-weird-6116484.php