The part 2 post in this series was mostly about atmospheric rivers. However, where the prior “Too Much Water” post focused on the atmospheric rivers and similar storms that impacted California this winter, as well as their impact on the electric infrastructure, this one will mostly examine the potential causes of this unusual set of storms. In the prior post we also defined the primary cause (climate change), in this post we will dig a bit deeper.
The wet and snowy conditions for the West Coast continue, even though our current Pacific climate pattern (La Niña) is mostly known for dryer than normal years. However we are (officially) transitioning out of the La Niña pattern and into a neutral pattern. What’s next? Read this paper.