Latest storm brings wind, less than inch of rain

Last Sunday’s storm brought rain and high winds to the Canyon Lake. Pat Elliano, who measures and keeps records of rain and wind from his waterfront weather station, measured winds of 40 miles per hour and .76 inches of rain in the community, while other SoCal cities experienced winds as high as 70 mph.

A large eucalyptus tree was uprooted near the 16th tee of the Golf Course and a large branch split off from a tree on the 14th hole. Another tree fell on three cars parked on Canyon Lake Dr. South, across from Continental. One couple reported that their patio cover became detached from their deck and blew on top of their house. There were no injuries or damage to neighbors’ property.

Special Enforcement Officer Mike Feeney, at the City of Canyon Lake, said, “There wasn’t much damage reported to the City – some erosion, but that’s it.” The POA Operations Department reported on the trees listed above, and added that large branches had fallen at Holiday Harbor and Moonstone Beach.

Canyon Lakers are surely pleased to see the lake level come up, and snow skiers are happy that the storm produced several inches of snow to local mountains.

Both Accuweather.com and Weather.com report no rain expected for the next two weeks. Although scientists are saying that this El Niño is one of the strongest ever recorded. As of the first week in February, Canyon Lake has had only two storms in 2016; many expected far more by now and are asking, “Why aren’t we getting more rain?”

According to Anthony Barnston, Chief Forecaster for Columbia University’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society. “California typically shows its greatest responses to El Niño during January-March, rather than the earlier part of the winter.” So there is still time for a good soaking.

But experts say there may be another factor worth considering: this El Niño is strong when it comes to some key indicators like record warm surface temperatures in a swath of the Pacific associated with the weather pattern. But it is weaker in other climate signals, like the strength of the trade winds or the temperature of the ocean below the surface.

Scientists say this El Niño has a lot of the same characteristics as big El Niños of the past, but it also has some differences that may end up leading to different outcomes for what it does to weather in California and along the whole pacific coast. So, expect surprises from this climate pattern.

 




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