Los Angeles and San Francisco have both received more rain than Seattle so far this year, and National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Steve Reedy told Newsweek the reason for the surprise phenomenon.
The data from Seattle's NWS office on Friday may come as a shock to many. "Lets take a look at the 2024 rainfall. Los Angeles 15.33" (194% of normal) San Francisco 13.58" (121% of normal) San Diego 10.89" (183% of normal) Seattle 12.91" (86% of normal)," NWS Seattle posted on X, formerly Twitter.
It's unusual for a California city to see higher rainfall than Seattle, said Reedy, explaining that the El Niño climate pattern is to blame for the extra downpours. "Typically, when we have an El Niño winter what ends up happening is that the storm path actually gets pushed a little further southward," he added.
"Seattle has this reputation for being very rainy and that's largely in part because of our winters. Once fire season ends in early October or November, we see a glut of rainfall and that wasn't the case this year.
As El Nino weakens, there is an 85% chance of neutral conditions in June, lets take a look at the 2024 rainfall.
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) April 12, 2024
Los Angeles 15.33" (194% of normal)
San Francisco 13.58" (121% of normal)
San Diego 10.89" (183% of normal)
Seattle 12.91" (86% of normal). #wawx
"This winter we did do better than what we typically do during an El Niño winter, but we are definitely below normal."
El Niño and La Niña both greatly impact Earth's weather. La Niña recently culminated last spring, ending a period of several years in which the pattern influenced the weather.
El Niño started in June, but recent forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration anticipate that there is a 79 percent chance that it will transition into El Niño-Southern Oscillation Neutral (when neither El Niño nor La Niña are present) by April to June. Then, there's a 55 percent chance it will transition to La Niña conditions in June-August.
Whereas Seattle has seen fewer moisture-laden winter storms than usual, rain has battered California. One storm brought more than 7 inches to Los Angeles, causing catastrophic floods.
In February, meteorologists in California said that Los Angeles had already received an entire year's worth of rain only five months into the water year, which runs from October to September. Several other California cities have also received more than a year's worth of rain, including San Diego and Riverside.
The excessive rainfall has been a result of a slew of atmospheric rivers that have battered the state this winter. Last year, more than a dozen of them helped alleviate the state's severe drought situation and replenished many of the state's reservoirs, but the storms also caused devastating floods and landslides.
Atmospheric rivers are defined as a "long, narrow region in the atmosphere—like rivers in the sky—that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Anna Skinner is a Newsweek senior reporter based in Indianapolis. Her focus is reporting on the climate, environment and weather ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
