“Nature … is, as it were, a continual circulation. Water is rais’d in Vapour into the Air by one Quality and precipitated down in drops by another, the Rivers run into the Sea, and the Sea again supplies them.”

~ Robert Hooke, English physicist,
“Lectures and Discourses of Earthquakes” (1668)

Sunday before sunset a complete rainbow – a 180-degree arch – spanned the foothills. Its magnificence was enhanced against dark storm clouds. A surprise snow flurry late Monday afternoon dusted the Crescenta Valley. Weather-related happenings certainly added a bit of excitement to “life in the hills.” A few days prior, NOAA of the National Weather Service released some non-surprising meteorological information.

It’s official! NOAA announced that El Niño has arrived. The Climate Prediction Center issued the El Niño Advisory on Thursday, Feb. 14 when it indicated El Niño conditions are likely to continue through our upcoming spring. The El Niño that has developed for the coming months is weak and is unlikely by itself to have a significant influence over our weather as compared to other weather patterns.

An atmospheric river is a term used to describe a relatively narrow region in the atmosphere that transports water vapor from the tropics. This gas form, or water vapor, can carry as much water as a dozen Mississippi Rivers. A “perfect storm” comes together as winter storms carried by the jet stream drop south from Alaska and Canada and tap into an atmospheric river. The result of this type convergence is often extreme precipitation events that cause severe flooding in western coastal regions of the world. In our case, it would be the West Coast of North America, specifically California.

Even though mild this year, El Niño can throw a wild card into the mix. While some of these events may be devasting, most events produce an excess of precipitation events (including snow) that simply benefit a region’s water supply.

A possibility for rain and snow lasts through today, Thursday. Once again, the below normal cold temperatures could result in a light dusting of snow at the lower elevations. A chance to dry out due to a slight warm-up and a break from the storms is expected to get underway by tomorrow, Friday. No rain is in the forecast at present; but predictability and weather don’t often confer.

Sue Kilpatrick is a Crescenta Valley resident and  Official Skywarn Spotter for the  National Weather Service. Reach her at  suelkilpatrick@gmail.com.