An El Niño advisory is now official, and scientists suggest there is a greater than a 90-percent chance that it will arrive this winter. They also believe the developing El Niño could become one of the most powerful on record – rivaling its 1997-98 predecessor, which sent California twice as much rain and the Sierra Nevada double the snowpack it usually gets. So the news of another El Niño probably sounds like a blessing for thirsty California, the world’s eighth largest economy, as it suffers through its worst drought in more than a millennium. Unfortunately, the impending weather phenomenon won’t reverse the drought and – and here’s why. Adding to California’s growing list of woes, there are other ways El Niño that could be disastrous. Part of a naturally occurring, irregular ocean-atmosphere climate cycle, El Niños are responsible for all sorts of global weather events, some of which are beneficial and many that are harmful. The 1997-98 El Niño caused 35 counties in California to be declared disaster areas. Mudslides killed 17 people that season and there were $500 million in damages. Worldwide, more than 20,000 people were killed. Understandably, California is now preparing for what may become a destructive “Godzilla” El Niño winter – rather than welcoming much-needed rain. So what will it take to end the drought and get California back in balance? We need Mother Nature to shift some meteorological and oceanic conditions that we have no control over, but there’s more to the equation. Climate change may be playing a significant role in the drought by altering the jet stream through warming in the Arctic. And for that, we do have a plan.
A forecast of a huge El Niño event, following unprecedented droughts in California , has communities clearing out debris basins, and residents stocking up on emergency supplies in preparation for a deluge of downpours after the coming years of dry weather. As we noted, California is experiencing extreme drought conditions, and a recent study suggests it will get worse by as much as 27% in the coming years . Additionally, experts say that the predicted rainstorms still will not reverse the drought in California , since it cannot be erased by four years .