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High Temps, Sunny Days Don't Equal the End of El Niño

By Mary Jo Bowling

As someone said in the Curbed SF office yesterday, "El Niño, where are you?" All winter long, the weather forecast has read like a prediction of the end of days, dotted with words such as "flooding," "mudslides," and "rain." For the past several days those words have been replaced with phrases like "record temperatures" and "70 degrees." It's enough to make you think spring is here, but a new round of reports say don't be fooled, El Niño isn't over yet.
As NBC Bay Area Chief Meteorologist Jeff Ranieri says, there's still about 10 weeks left for El Niño to rear its head, but he says the situation changes "week by week."

Of course, everyone is watching because the state is suffering from four years of drought. Many have high hopes for a drought-busting rainy season.

Steve Anderson, a National Weather Service meteorologist is still optimistic, telling the San Jose Mercury News: "El Niño is still there, still strong. We've got all the way through March to get rain. There's plenty of time left."

Anderson told the SJMN that the warm weather is due to powerful ridge of high pressure that's pushing rain up to Canada.

And while the fear of drought is in the back of everyone's mind, ABC News 7 meteorologist Mike Nicco says to chill out, this kind of weather pattern is common in February.

Anderson has one sure-fire recommendation for Bay Area residents: "Get out while you can. Enjoy the sunny weather."

· Warm, sunny Bay Area Days Don't Mean End to El Niño [San Jose Mercury News]

· El Niño Starts the Week on a Bad Note, Plans to Revisit Friday [Curbed SF]

· Expert Advice: How Big Will El Niño be and When Will It Hit? [Curbed SF]