Early Years of California’s Drought may be Linked to Lingering Effect of La Niña

April 22, 2015

On average, La Niña—the cool phase of a natural climate pattern in the tropical Pacific—leads to somewhat dry winters in California.  But a new analysis of historical data from scientists in NOAA’s Climate Program Office suggests that dryness often deepens into drought the following year, even if the tropical Pacific has technically shifted back to “neutral” conditions.  Consistent with that pattern, California’s ongoing drought began in 2011-12, during the second year of a La Niña phase, and it persisted into the “neutral” years of 2012-2014. Yuko Okumura, a research associate at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, contributed to the data analysis.

Climate.gov, April 20, 2015

Featuring: Yuko Okumura, Research Associate, University of Texas Institute for Geophysic, Jackson School of Geosciences