El Niño and La Niña are recurring weather patterns that impact temperature and rainfall around the world.
We are currently in an El Niño climate pattern, and recent predictions show that parts of California, including the Central Coast, have an increased chance of precipitation this winter.
“It simply means that there’s a higher likelihood of increased rainfall than a non-El Niño year or a La Niña year,” Matthew Griffin said. Griffin is the engineering manager for Santa Barbara County's Flood Control and Water Conservation District.
He said some of Santa Barbara County’s wettest years on record are classified as strong El Niño’s, but the outcome is not always consistent. The weather pattern recurs every few years due to warming trends in the tropical Pacific Ocean and has unique characteristics related to timing and intensity. He said no two events are alike.
“The last El Niño year, I think it was 2016, that got a lot of publicity and there was a lot of build up to that winter – that event turned out to be one of the drier years we’ve had, reaching about 70% of our normal rainfall,” Griffin said.
And he said last winter, with all that rain, is another example of the weather turning out to be different than expected.
“This past year was actually a La Niña year, which typically is a drier year and we ended up being about 200% of average normal rainfall,” he said.
With so much variability, Griffin said the County prepares for the winter season the same way each year – by checking creeks, levees, debris basins, channels, and storm drains.
“We have a series of capital improvement projects that are checked annually, maintained annually to make sure they’re cleaned out and functional for the winter,” he said.
Griffin closely monitors forecasts from the National Weather Service in Oxnard. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), also releases regular updates and forecasts for El Niño.
You can find more information on the Santa Barbara County public works website.
