La Niña prediction bad news for Calif.
By Eric Holthaus, Slate
With a monstrous and record-setting El Niño on the wane, the implications of its disastrous worldwide consequences are starting to settle in. But there’s new evidence that, on its heels, a potentially strong La Niña could emerge later this year—bringing with it a renewed stretch of extreme weather.
Last week, the National Multi-Model Ensemble, a blend of the most reliable seasonal forecasts available, showed the clearest signal yet that tropical Pacific waters will cool rapidly over the next six months, likely ushering in La Niña conditions.
La Niñas are typically bad news for California, and this coming winter shouldn’t be any different: All seven components of the NMME are pointing toward a below-normal start to this winter’s rainy season there, and continued pressure from global warming will ensure that storing snow will be especially challenging this year too.
