A nice graphic from JPL of the central Pacific from September 1997 and September of this year. It’s easy to see why Bill Patzert and his colleagues are predicting a mild event. Rain for the Southwest, they say we’ll likely see, but nothing like the disastrous year of l997-l998.
But we had a mild El Nino condition in 2005, and record-breaking storms. And in the discussion with Patzert posted below, he notes that this year’s began late, and could be on a track comparable to the El Nino of ’68-69, which led to huge storms in this area. Guess we’ll find out soon enough…
Kit Stolz 