NOAA Declares El Niño Event, Warns of Potential for Strong Winter Impact in Northern California NOAA scientists have officially confirmed that an El Niño event is underway in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, with forecasts indicating the possibility of it becoming one of the strongest on record this winter. The agency suggests that the event could reach "very strong" intensity by the fall or early winter, though it emphasizes that outcomes remain uncertain. While a strong El Niño typically increases the likelihood of a wetter winter for California, it does not guarantee such conditions, as historical data shows mixed results. El Niño is a recurring climate pattern characterized by warmer-than-normal ocean temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific, which disrupts typical atmospheric circulation. This shift weakens tropical trade winds and alters the formation of thunderstorms, influencing weather patterns across North America. For Northern California, the effects are most pronounced during late fall and winter. NOAA classifies El Niño events based on temperature anomalies in the Niño 3.4 region, with "very strong" events defined as anomalies exceeding 2 degrees Celsius. Current conditions suggest the event is already "weak," with temperatures averaging 0.7 degrees above normal, but models predict it could strengthen significantly over the next several months. Historical records provide insight into how strong El Niño events have impacted Northern California. The most intense event since 1950 occurred during the 1982-1983 water year, followed by the 1997-1998 and 2015-2016 events. These periods saw record rainfall in many areas, with cities like Sacramento, Stockton, and Modesto experiencing rainfall nearly double their averages.#el_nio #noaa #northern_california #nio_3_4 #arctic_oscillation
USGS Glitch Triggers False Earthquake Alerts Across Northern California A technical malfunction in the U.S. Geological Survey’s earthquake detection system led to multiple false alerts across Northern California late Monday, according to preliminary findings. The alerts, which indicated several small earthquakes occurring within minutes in different regions of the state, were later determined to be the result of a system error rather than actual seismic activity. The automated notifications, issued shortly before 10 p.m., suggested seismic events with magnitudes ranging from 3.2 to 3.8. These were reported to have occurred in areas such as Point Reyes, Bonny Doon, Shaver Lake in Fresno County, and Yreka. The initial reports were generated by the Northern California Seismic System, a component of the California Integrated Seismic Network, and were marked as “automatic” detections. However, inconsistencies in the data raised doubts about the accuracy of the alerts. The USGS has not yet provided a full public explanation of the incident or confirmed whether any of the reported quakes were genuine. It is standard practice for automatically generated earthquake data to undergo review, with some reports being revised or removed if they are found to be erroneous. As of late Monday night, there were no confirmed reports of shaking, damage, or injuries linked to the alerts. The USGS’s “Did You Feel It?” system, which collects public accounts of seismic activity, showed minimal to no activity associated with the listed events. Seismologists routinely examine automatically generated earthquake data, which can occasionally produce incorrect readings due to signal interference or processing errors.#usgs #northern_california #california_integrated_seismic_network #point_reyes #bonny_doon
