It has been a bad start to the 2013- 2014 ski season in Tahoe. Things are so bad in fact that NOAA has said “with most of January likely to stay dry the 2014 water year may go down as the driest 4 month start to a water year in the recorded history for the sierra”. But why? To shed a little light on whats going on with California’s weather we bring you this update from NOAA Sacramento.
“The reason it has been so dry in California has been an extremely persistent high pressure ridge along the West Coast, pushing the average storm track northward into Alaska/British Columbia. This leads to the question, why is the ridge so persistent? One possible reason is an area of unusually warm water south of Alaska and west of Canada, coupled with cool water over the western Pacific may be reinforcing the pattern. Of course, the full answer is complicated, with many factors around the globe interacting with each other. Research by climate experts of this event may lead to clearer answers in the future.” – NOAA Sacramento
You want to know how bad things are in California this season? It’s mid-January and there is a Red Flag Warning!Â