Though Davisites will be sporting rain boots over the next few days, it has been a pretty dry and warm winter.
In January, statewide rainfall totals were just 30 percent of average for the month, but 130 percent for the season, according to a report by ABC News in San Francisco.
UC Davis professor of meteorology and climatologist Bryan Weare said there has been less precipitation this year because of the phenomenon known as La Niña – a cooling of the Pacific Ocean, the opposite of its brother El Niño.
La Niña occurs every five to seven years and lasts about a year. This cycle of La Niña began early last summer.
For the west coast, La Niña means more rain in the northern parts such as Washington and Oregon, while there is less rain in California, especially in southern California. Weare said the effects of La Niña usually peak in December or January.
“The forecast system isn’t perfect,” Weare said. “The weather pattern is complicated, so you really have to look at the whole season to determine the pattern.”
ANGELA SWARTZ can be reached city@theaggie.org.
