Publication: S.F. Chronicle

UCLA Expert: Daniel Swain: Assistant Researcher and Climate Specialist, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability

Synopsis: While that happened during the massive winter storm that hit much of the country just before Christmas, California won’t see the hurricane-like winds and severe weather conditions their East Coast counterparts saw.

UCLA News:“This one is going to bomb out over the open ocean,” Swain noted, adding he expects it to hit 500 to 800 miles offshore. “It doesn’t take a historically significant storm to have significant impacts. It will take less rain to cause more flooding this time… During the drought years, we would kill for a storm like we’re getting. Now, you shrug your shoulders.” He reminded that the state is still stuck in a drought and La Niña conditions, known for dry winters, are still sitting in the Pacific Ocean. Even with the bomb cyclone giving a boost to the incoming storm, it’s “comparable to the kind of strongest storm we’d see in a typical winter,” Swain said, with records unlikely to fall.

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