You know how Southern California got that drenching last week? Well, it may be our turn as soon as two weeks from now, according to a climate scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction Center (NOAA), our first big rains could hit in early November, though obviously nothing's a sure thing in the weather biz.
The Business Times is all over this prediction, though the actual words quoted from NOAA's Michelle L'Heureux are pretty cautious.
"Generally for California," she says, "we see [wet weather] happening starting in November and into December. It's a pattern that shifts ... based on conditions."
And did you catch any of that drizzle last night? According to Weather Underground, that's the last we're seeing of likely precipitation in October, but they only really do 10-day forecasting.
A report earlier in the month calls the forming El Niño "too big to fail" at this point, with California highly likely to see an abnormally wet winter. For Southern California, that means a 60 percent chance of extra rainstorms; for us, it's now a 40 percent chance, which is still pretty good.
SF city departments have been doing what they can to prepare for the coming, potential rainpocalypse events, including clearing storm drains and beefing up drainage in general in low-lying areas. PG&E also says they're getting prepared for winter storms though you can bet we may see some power outages like the one that took out half the city's power during last December's #Rainpocalypse. Will Muni be better prepared for flooding in the tunnels this time? We shall see.
Previously: Video: How El Niño Works