Dry weather not unusual during El Nino winter

This winter has been all over the place, we’ve had plenty of rain, wind, high surf, and even some snow on the Central Coast. Now, sunshine that makes it seem like summer.

“A bit surprised, not upset though. I mean I surf, and it’s hard to be mad,” said Freesie Bauer, a surfer from Pacific Grove.

There has been plenty of people out and about all weekend, soaking in the sun and enjoying the warmth. Also questioning, where is El Nio? But here’s something to remember, El Nino doesn’t equal rain. An El Nino is the warming of the Pacific Ocean, and it’s the warmer waters that influence our weather in different ways. So it’s not completely out of the ordinary to have beautiful weather during an El Nino winter.

Despite the dry conditions, there’s still a few more months of winter left. The Climate Prediction Center is expecting above normal rainfall in the next three months. So don’t put away the umbrellas away just yet.

“I’m happy that it’s like this, but I still want more rain. We’re not over the drought, we need rain, rain, rain, we’ve been lucky to have gotten what we got, and hopefully that’ll just continue,” said Melinda McCurdy, a resident of Carmel.

For local surf shops, the nice weather has been good for business after a run of gloomy weeks.Rich Wenzlik of Sunshine Surf Shop has lived in Monterey his entire life, and he’s used to these rollercoaster winters.

“You know beaches are getting torn up, and weather, and big swells, and king tides, and everybody is, you know, ‘oh my gosh what’s going on?’ This is normal. This happens, it’s part of nature’s little cycle of events,” said Wenzlik.

And those warm waters associated with El Nino are still out in the Pacific, opening up the door for more rain opportunities through the rest of the winter season.