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La Niña On The Horizon?
La Niña is sometimes associated with drier and warmer conditions in SoCal, though last year was a La Niña year and it was historically wet.
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
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Topline:
Temperatures in the equatorial Pacific have begun to cool, indicating that El Niño may be gone by April. There’s a 55% chance that La Niña will develop by the summer.
Local implications: La Niña is sometimes associated with warmer and drier conditions here in Southern California, though last year was a La Niña year and it was historically wet.
Is this normal: La Niña often follows a strong El Niño year, which 2023-2024 was.
Climate change: There’s research that shows that climate change could strengthen La Niña and El Niño conditions through the end of the century, though by how much would depend on the emissions scenario.
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