Dry La Niña conditions may be on the way to SLO County. Here’s what it could mean
After two abnormally wet winters, San Luis Obispo County could be in for a more meager rain season this year.
That’s because Central California will likely enter a La Niña pattern at the end of the summer, according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center.
This means SLO County will likely receive fewer storms this winter and spring. In fact, the Central Coast should brace itself for another drought, meteorologist John Lindsey said.
“Say this upcoming rainfall season is really dry. It wouldn’t surprise me to see a large part of the state go into a drought condition,” Lindsey said.
What causes a La Niña?
La Niña and El Niño weather patterns happen when the ocean surface temperature is lower or higher than usual near the equator in the Pacific Ocean, according to NOAA.
A La Niña occurs when colder-than-usual ocean surface temperatures push the storm track northward, dumping rain on the Pacific Northwest while leaving California’s Central Coast drier than usual, Lindsey said.
This weather pattern lasts about nine to 12 months, NOAA said.
In San Luis Obispo County, a dry winter usually includes about three storms, while a wet year includes about eight, Lindsey said.
Though the county is expecting fewer storms, they could be more intense than usual due to climate change, Lindsey said.
“With the warming atmosphere, the storms that do reach the Central Coast have the potential to be more intense,” he said.
A warmer atmosphere can hold more water vapor, and as the water vapor condenses, it releases heat that essentially revs the “engine behind the storms,” Lindsey said.
La Niña heightens drought concerns
Though a series of rainy winters replenished lakes, rivers and reservoirs, La Niña could bring a drought to San Luis Obispo County once again, Lindsey said.
“Water is such a precious commodity, he said. “We’ve been so blessed to have two back-to-back years of well-above-average rainfall.”
Northeastern areas of California are already experiencing abnormally dry conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Meanwhile parts of Siskiyou and Modoc counties entered a moderate drought as of July 30, the U.S. Drought Monitor said.
“We’re starting to see abnormally dry conditions creep in,” Lindsey said.
