La Niña is returning for a second straight year, according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. But that doesn’t necessarily mean another wet and wild winter for San Diego.
The periodic cooling of the tropical Pacific Ocean can affect weather worldwide and often results in drier-than-usual conditions across the southern tier of the United States and wetter than normal conditions in the Pacific Northwest.
Last year, the weather phenomenon contributed to record rain to San Diego, but Climate Researcher Dan Cayan with Scripps Institution of Oceanography said this time, the region should see drier than normal conditions.
“The situation this last winter was complicated. Part of the reason we were wet is because we had a very strong shorter period episode of storminess which involved what’s called an atmospheric river which can happen but in this case it was unusually persistent,” said Cayan.
Last year’s La Niña brought more than 50 feet of snow to the Sierras, flooding rains to the Midwest, and extreme drought to the Southwest.
