Is This Really A La Niña?

It’s been over a month since the National Weather Service declared a La Niña, but here’s an interesting side note; this is the fifth time in six winters that we will be dealing with La Niña or La Niña-like conditions.

What does that mean weather-wise in the winter months?

“We can expect as we get a little bit deeper into the cold season, we should see drier conditions either developing or intensifying across the South, really from Southern California all the way through the Deep South to the southern Atlantic coast,” noted USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey.

And while we’re seeing heavy rain and potential flooding in Southern California.

“A lot of the impacts related to La Niña often peak in late winter to early spring," Rippey said.  "So the fact that we're getting heavy rain in California this week doesn't mean that we're seeing a bombed forecast. It really just means we haven't fully seen the effects of La Niña settling in 100% into influencing atmosphere patterns over North America.”

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