El Nino

8/8/2017 (Permalink)

In 1997 an El Nino year was declared and the rain and windstorms were record setting. 2015 and part of 2016 have been named El Nino years. Will Northern California be rainy? How will things be in Stockton?

With weather we never really know. Looking over the past 15 El Nino events going back to 1949 only three have had heavy rain. El Nino is a warming of the South Pacific sea currents. These currents travel up the western coasts of South and North America all the way to Alaska. The fact that there is an El Nino doesn’t mean that we will have rain. However, there are other specific indicators that warn that this could be a heavy rain year.

1n 1997 there was a large beaching of crabs and other small sea creatures on the shorelines of Southern California. That heavy rain year also produce a large Algae bloom in the North Pacific. While there is always a summertime Algae bloom it was heavier than usual in 1997. This year it is even larger than in the past! Arizona monsoon rains were epic in 1997. This Monsoon season, it began raining in Arizona in August and has continued so far to September. The pattern seems to be repeating. The indicators are this may be a potentially heavy El Nino rain year.

Stockton experienced significant rain and flood damage in 1997 and could be in for the same this year. SERVPRO of Stockton is conducting anEl Nino Preparation Workshopin October. The date and time will be introduced soon.

You can count on SERVPRO of Stockton to serve Stockton and Central Valley with water damage restoration 24/7 in the event of El Nino rains in conjunction with our other flood cleanup duties.

This blog was written by Clayton Barry. If you have any questions, contact SERVPRO of Stockton at 209-477-3090.