The JPL is now predicting that the El Niño phenomenon is very likely to be quite strong this season. From the LA Times:
An El Niño that is among the strongest on record is gaining strength in the Pacific Ocean, and climate scientists say California is likely to face a wet winter.
“There’s no longer a possibility that El Niño wimps out at this point. It’s too big to fail,†said Bill Patzert, climatologist for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge.
“And the winter over North America is definitely not going to be normal,†he said.
What that means for Chicago is that the winter of 2015-2016 is likely to be warmer and drier than usual.
I’m glad for California, of course. They’re in desperate need of the rainy winter that a strong El Niño is likely to bring to them. I hope they’re ready for it. Rain that just runs off won’t be any good to them.
But it also means that we’re unlikely to have a good sledding season here. Damn. I thought we might actually have a team to run.
Roofers are in great demand along the coast, as people prepare for these supposed rugged storms. We had one over today giving estimates on several buildings.