Will California Get Drier? California Unlikely To Get Wet This Winter

On Thursday, federal weather forecasters crushed the hopes of many Californians that the dry weather might end during the winter.

Unfortunately, the federal weather forecasters said that only a small El Nino might occur later on this year.

The drought in California has become so extreme that people have reported they are unable to get drinking water from the faucets in their very own homes. According to another report by Inquisitr.com, hundreds of residents from San Joaquin Valley have been unable to retrieve water from their own sinks. It was reported that many of the individual water wells have gone dry, and the Californian Office of Emergency Services had to deliver water bottles to the people who were unable to retrieve water from their faucets.

The Climate Prediction Center deputy director Mike Halpert said, “There is a “60-65% chance of an El Nino.” While the chance of an El Nino is still above 50% this year, it is reported to not even be that strong so California will most likely continue to remain dry.

An online forecast prediction said, “A majority of models…favor a weak El Nino. At this time, the consensus of forecasters expects El Nino to emerge during September-October and to peak at weak strength during the late fall and early winter.”

El Nino, for those of you who don’t know, is a climate pattern that occurs seasonally. An El Nino that has some strength would be able to shower a decent amount of rain and snow. It’s unfortunate that a strong El Nino is not predicted for this year. With a decently strong El Nino, California would have been able to expect a much-needed wet winter.

Thankfully, a weak El Nino is not guaranteed, and depending on its strength, it could help relieve California from its drought.

Many Californians have a reason to be disappointed because earlier this year there was a lot of media attention for a strong El Nino to develop during the winter.

However, many forecasters still believe that a strong El Nino is still in California’s prospects for later this year. Their reasoning is that the Pacific Ocean’s water is still warming, which is a key part in the development of an El Nino. The ocean water temperatures did cool occasionally during the summer, but the water is starting to warm up again, which gives forecasters hope that a strong El Nino could still be inbound for the winter.

[Image via Getty Images]