The coming rainy season is unlikely to rise to last year’s level in California when the state was clobbered by at least a dozen strong atmospheric rivers.
Atmospheric rivers bring dense, tropical moisture from the Pacific Ocean to the California coastline that falls as rain and snow.
This week, we’ll see the two atmospheric rivers hit California and Baja California. Alex Tardy, with the National Weather service, said San Diego County can expect 1 to 1.5 inches of rain this week. Some of it will fall on Wednesday, some on Friday and Friday night.
Tardy said the strongest storms will see landfall north and south of San Diego.
“Still indicating this is more favored to be Santa Barbara. So, L.A. and northward,” Tardy said. “But we also have an atmospheric river coming from the south, so numbers have gone up in northern Baja.”
Tardy said this will be great weather to dampen fire risks.
“So with all this moisture and all this rain expected, we should be in really good shape, fire weather-wise. Not ending the season, but in good shape,” he said.
The rain on Wednesday will be quite warm. Things will cool off on Friday, but not enough to bring snow to local mountains. Tardy said the snow level on Friday will still be near 8,000 feet.
It’ll be dry next week for the Thanksgiving holiday. Another storm will be brewing over the Pacific Ocean near the first of December, but Tardy said it might not reach the coastline.
“There was some opportunity for another storm. But it looks like, for the moment, that one might stay off shore further and mainly go up into the Pacific Northwest,” he said.
This coming winter has been dubbed an “El Niño,” when the surface of the ocean warms and the chances of rain can increase.
