The water year runs from October 1 to September 30. With plenty of rain the first three months, we are off to a fantastic start
Everywhere so far is either well above average, or double the average. SFO is seeing 205% of their normal rainfall.
But changes are afoot.
Let's take a look at the rainfall potential over the next 7 days. You can see across California, we remain dry.
The storm track is well to our north in the Pacific Northwest. It's hovering over Seattle and Portland over the next 7 days where beneficial rainfall will happen. But you notice across California, it is very dry.
In fact, next week, the Climate Prediction Center put a big bullseye of dry weather right over California. This week and next week, there's a 30-50% chance of below average precipitation. Over the next 10 days or so, we are not forecasting any significant storms.
RELATED: Maps show improvement in drought conditions amid storms, but California needs 'much more' rain, snow
What's the force pushing this dry spell?
This is all a part of a La Niña pattern. La Nina is the current phase we are in, with those cooler ocean waters off the coast of South America and the Pacific. That big area of high pressure blocks storms from moving into California and sends that jet stream north over the Pacific Northwest.
It looks like as we enter the new year, at least January will wind up a little drier than normal. We'll have to see if in February and March we can get this storm track a little farther south to bring us more rainfall so we can hit our yearly totals over the next couple of months.
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