California Weather Blog: As California’s record-setting drought persists, El Niño is rapidly intensifying in the tropical Pacific

ca weather blogFrom Daniel Swain at the California Weather Blog:

“As has been the case with much of the 2014-2015 “wet season” in California, the past month has brought a decidedly mixed arrangement of weather conditions.

The past  30 days have been substantially drier than usual nearly everywhere, though there have been a few localized, notable exceptions. Convective activity (especially over the Sierra Nevada and other mountain regions) brought thunderstorms, hail, and heavy downpours in some spots. Localized heavy snowfall occurred late last week at the highest elevations, including substantial (and photogenic) accumulations along the Eastern Sierra near Mono Lake this past week. In fact, this mid-May snow burst may constitute the biggest snow event of the entire winter in some parts of the Eastern Sierra (which is more a testament to the abject lack of snow this year than the particular strength of the recent event)! Still, on a statewide and regional basis, Sierra Nevada snow water equivalent remains at an all-time record low for the date–as it has been now for the past two consecutive months. … ”

Continue reading at the California Weather Blog by clicking here.

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