This weeks storms influenced strongly by El Nio

The impact of the much anticipated El Nio may finally be here. Heavy rains and winds this week are just the start of what is expected to be a long wet winter.

“The El Nio event has been there, it’s been there since the summer season. What we seemed to be seeing now is the first round of it really having an influence on the weather pattern we’re experiencing here”, said Warren Blier with the National Weather Service in Monterey.

The storms this week are a bit different from those this past month.

“So one difference we have with the previous storms is we had them come more from the north, say out of the Gulf of Alaska, and coming down into California. Now we’re seeing them come more from the west, so instead of getting more of a northerly trajectory, north to south, we’re seeing a west to east trajectory and that’s bringing them straight into our area”, said Charles Bell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

This may just be the start to a very wet winter and emergency services are well prepared.

“In terms of emergency management for the county we’re always in a readiness state for emergencies. So we have been preparing for this type of winter event for many, many months now”, said Sherrie Collins, Emergency Services Manager with the Office of Emergency Services of Monterey County.

This wet weather is quite the change from four years of a devastating drought. According to the National Weather Service, it’s going to take a lot more rain to help the state.

“The water deficit we worked up during the drought is so large that there’s really no way that one winter season, no matter how wet, can make up for that entire deficit”, said Blier.

So despite the wet weather on the way, California still needs to be conserving water.