Conditions Ripe For El Nino

While there are no guarantees, federal weather scientists say things are looking positive for much needed rain this winter.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports as Pacific Ocean temperatures continue to warm and trade winds shift, the El Niño weather event that is emerging could be one of the strongest on record, which bodes well for a wetter than normal winter for California.

Recent weather trends and the latest monthly NOAA El Nino report indicate the chances are now greater than 90 percent that El Niño conditions that began in March will remain through this winter. That is up from 85 percent last month and 50 percent from four months ago.

Even with anticipated rain, it would need to pour over the Thanksgiving weekend, soaking the ground and allowing for runoff into waterways; then heavy snowstorms need to blanket the Sierras to build up the snowpack allowing the melt off to fill reservoirs, according to federal scientists, who added, that could take ten years or more.