El Niño forming off California coast
By Kurtis Alexander, San Francisco Chronicle
El Niño has been a sore subject for Californians lately.
The event, which involves the warming of tropical waters in the Pacific and can hold the promise of rain for the West Coast, was predicted to take hold last fall — possibly in great force. That forecast fizzled, however, along with the hopes of many who believed, perhaps a bit too eagerly, that a powerful El Niño would break the California drought.
With federal forecasters again saying El Niño conditions are ripe for this fall, few on the West Coast are listening. In fact, many seem to be dismissive of any potential for an El Niño to help deliver a wet winter in 2015-16.
So, it’s a battle between El Nino and the Persistent High!