LA NINA IN SOUTHLAND AGAIN DRIER YEAR, MORE FIRE DANGER ARE EXPECTED.Byline: Eric Leach Staff Writer After near-record rainfall greened up Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, in 2005, a La Nina effect will likely bring a much drier spring and summer this year, with a spike in fire danger, officials said Thursday. The mild cooling of the tropical Pacific Ocean traditionally means stronger and more frequent hurricanes in the Southeast, wet weather in the Pacific Northwest and dry conditions in Southern California. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center made the announcement at the American Meteorological me·te·or·ol·o·gy n. The science that deals with the phenomena of the atmosphere, especially weather and weather conditions. [French météorologie, from Greek Society's meeting in Atlanta, confirming the slight cooling of parts of the Pacific Ocean and changes in the jet stream. El Nino, which leads to the opposite effect of La Nina, occurs when tropical ocean temperatures warm, typically sending wetter weather toward Southern California. ``In Southern California, we will probably have normal to below-normal rainfall,'' said Larry Riddle, a climatologist cli·ma·tol·o·gy n. The meteorological study of climates and their phenomena. cli  ma·to·log at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography oceanography, study of the seas and oceans. The major divisions of oceanography include the geological study of the ocean floor (see plate tectonics) and features; physical oceanography, which is concerned with the physical attributes of the ocean water, such as at the University of California, San Diego UCSD is consistently ranked among the top ten public universities for undergraduate education in the United States by U.S. News & World Report.[3] It is a Public Ivy. [1] For graduate studies, most of UCSD's Ph.D. . ``When we are in a La Nina condition, we almost never get really wet years.'' While it should be drier, that doesn't mean drought, he said. ``It's probable we will have normal to below-normal rainfall, but it's just as likely to have the below-normal rainfall during the weaker El Ninos.'' During what was described by some as one of those weak El Ninos, the 2004-05 rainfall period from July 1 to June 30 was Los Angeles' second- wettest year in recorded history. The 37.25 inches of rain in downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or last year made it the wettest year since the 38.18 inches that fell in 1883-84. Normal rainfall in Los Angeles is 15.11 inches. So far this season, 4.95 inches has been measured downtown, compared with a normal reading to date of 7.25 inches, and a whopping 22.85 inches last year at this time. The dry year so far also has firefighters concerned. ``We have had some red flag warnings over the last couple of months because of the dry conditions and winds,'' said Inspector Ron Haralson of the Los Angeles County Fire Department Not to be confused with Los Angeles Fire Department. The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD), serves unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, as well as 58 cities and towns that choose to have the county provide fire and EMS services, including the City of La . Denise King, a spokeswoman for Southern California Gas This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. Co., said warmer temperatures than expected in parts of the nation have resulted in lower natural gas prices than feared late last year, but the average gas bill is still going up compared with last winter. The typical residential monthly bill could increase to $105 this winter compared with $79 last year in Southern California, she said. ``The winter's not over yet. Our customers should practice conservation and energy efficiency in their homes, turning their thermostats down three to five degrees to help reduce their bills,'' King said. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Noun 1. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - an agency in the Department of Commerce that maps the oceans and conserves their living resources; predicts changes to the earth's environment; provides weather reports and forecasts floods and hurricanes and predicts that La Nina conditions will likely remain into late spring, and possibly into summer. La Ninas occur about every three to five years. The most recent La Nina occurred in 2000-01 and was a relatively weak event compared with 1998-2000. Jim Laver, director of the NOAA NOAA abbr. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Noun 1. NOAA - an agency in the Department of Commerce that maps the oceans and conserves their living resources; predicts changes to the earth's environment; Climate Prediction Center, said it is too early to say what effects this event will have on the 2006 hurricane season. William Patzert, a climatologist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory “JPL” redirects here. For other uses, see JPL (disambiguation). Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a NASA research center located in the cities of Pasadena and La Cañada Flintridge, near Los Angeles, California, USA. in Pasadena, refers to neutral periods as ``La Nada'' (Spanish for ``nothing''), and predicted last fall that there would be weak La Nina to La Nada conditions this winter. He said at the time that he expected drier conditions this winter but warned that the lack of a strong El Nino or La Nina trend leaves the Southern California weather outlook difficult to predict. Associated Press contributed to this story. Eric Leach, (805) 583-7602 eric.leach(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): map Map: Jet stream causing warm weather SOURCES: National Weather Service; Weather Underground Associated Press |
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