Do this weeks statewide thunderstorms mean that El Nino is actually here? Folks had been doubting the cyclical weather phenomenon would arrive this year and make a dent in the drought we're facing, but meterologists, hydrologists and other 'ologists are venturing that, yes, we may have lucked into an El Nino.
"People were talking about the no-show El Nino," said Mike Dettinger, a research hydrologist with U.S. Geological Survey in the San Jose Merc. "But when you look back (at the last strong El Nino) it was right around this time of year that it finally kind of broke loose ... and once we get into this mode, it's pretty easy to slip into more of these patterns."
Rain, would of course, be a gigantic blessing to a thirsty state with a suffering agricultural economy. Would it -- ironically -- diminish the perceived need for a massive water bond in the eyes of drenched voters? The bond is already on uneasy ground, and if the drought is seen to improve, this could be a legitimate factor come November. We still think the bond's needed, for the record.
Read more on the scientists' take on this week's storms here, or on the El Nino phenomenon here.
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