Home » Santa Clarita News » Environment » This Winter’s El Niño Is Expected To Be Worse Than 1997/98, Santa Clarita Officials Prepare
Bridge to Home, Santa Clarita’s only homeless shelter, is preparing to open the shelter early and stay open approximately 30 days longer in anticipation of an El Nino winter.
Photo courtesy of NASA. NASA’s newest image and an image from nearly the same day in 1997/ 98 show similar sea surface heights, leading scientists to believe this winter’s El Niño is going to be just as bad, if not worse.

This Winter’s El Niño Is Expected To Be Worse Than 1997/98, Santa Clarita Officials Prepare

Weather officials are saying the upcoming El Niño is continuing to shape and will likely be worse than the storm in 1997/98.


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The Climate Prediction Center, the National Centers for Environmental Protection, the National Weather Service and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society released an El Niño and Southern Oscillation Diagnostic Discussion on Thursday, which updates the status of the upcoming El Nino.

The newest information states “there is an approximately 95 percent chance that El Niño will continue through Northern Hemisphere winter 2015-16, gradually weakening through spring 2016,” according to the report. “Several atmospheric and oceanic anomalies reflect a strong El Niño.”

Related: El Niño Preparation Begins For Los Angeles County Sheriff’s, Santa Clarita Search And Rescue Teams

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratories recently released side by side images of the latest image showing the growing sea surface height, which is used to determine how much heat is in the ocean.

The seemingly mythical and ghostly El Nino that has haunted Southern California in recent winters may be near, and city officials say they are prepared for it to make an appearance.

Truck stuck in the mud on Sierra Highway when the Mint Canyon Creek overflowed (part of the Santa Clara River Watershed) during the El Nino weather event of February 1998. Photo by Gary Thornhill/SCVHistory.com.

“The year-to-year and, even, decade-to-decade changes in the ocean that indicate climate events such as the El Niño, La Niña and Pacific Decadal Oscillation are dramatically visualized by these data,” according to NASA JPL officials. “Sea-surface height is the most modern and powerful tool for taking the “pulse” of the global oceans.”

Related: Remembering El Nino ’98; Santa Clarita City Prepares For Possible Storm

NASA’s newest image and an image from nearly the same day in 1997/ 98 show similar sea surface heights, leading scientists to believe this winter’s El Niño is going to be just as bad, if not worse.

“This El Niño continues to rank among the strongest in our records, which start in 1950,” according to a report by Emily Becker, a research scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The most recent report can be found here.

“We take preparation very seriously,” said Travis Lange, environmental services manager for Santa Clarita, in a previous story. “We have crews clean out storm drains and catch basins throughout the year.”

The city has a list of “sensitive areas” in the Santa Clarita Valley that may not drain very well, Lange said, in a previous story.

“The list gets less and less every year due to the city working on making sure the flow lines work properly and water doesn’t pool,” Lange said, in a previous story, adding that the city keeps those areas in mind during rainfall.

While weather officials warn, and prepare, for the upcoming El Niño, the Santa Clarita Valley is expected to have warm temperatures reaching into the mid 90’s for the rest of the week.

A 50 percent chance of rain is expected for Saturday, according to Weather Underground.

Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.

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This Winter’s El Niño Is Expected To Be Worse Than 1997/98, Santa Clarita Officials Prepare

One comment

  1. Yowza! So is there anyway the SCV water companies can supply their SCV customers with water collection barrels so we can collect and store the rain water so we can use it to water our plants when it’s not raining? Just a thought! Anyone have ideas on how we can make this work?

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About Jessica Boyer

Jessica is an award-winning journalist, photographer, videographer and artist. She has worked with news organizations including NBC Los Angeles, KHTS AM 1220, and the Pierce College Roundup News. She is studying to receive a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism with an emphasis on Photojournalism and a minor in Communications at California State University, Northridge. She has studied and worked in many fields including filmmaking, journalism, studio photography, and some graphic design. She began her journalism journey at the Arroyo Seco Conquestador News Network and the Saugus High School News Network.