SARATOGA (KRON) — In recent weeks, California has received some unusual late season showers, leaving some people to wonder if El Nino could be responsible.
Meteorologist Jan Null believes that the El Nino forming along the equator in the Pacific probably isn’t directly responsible for the recent storms in Texas, the Midwest and in California. However, he suspects the warm water phenomenon could be playing a supporting role.
Null explains, “with El Nino, it’s like the atmosphere on steroids. If you compare that to a ball player, would he have hit that home run anyway? The atmosphere can do lots of things naturally anyway.”
That means it’s hard to say that any individual story is the direct result of El Nino.
Null also says that computer models of the Pacific Ocean seem to show that the El Nino is getting stronger and that it might stick around through the end of the year. It that happens, the result could be more rain and snow in California, especially in the southern portion of the state.