Another Storm System Ushers In Unsettled Weather To California (1-23-16)

It's been a stormy, rainy January for us. Yet, another weather system had brought isolated rain showers, some heavy, to San Jose, CA this day of January 23, 2016. This time, the weather was like Hawaii or the tropics... rain, sun, rain, sun! Instability from this passing system had ushered in an unstable airmass over the region causing spotty showers and t-storms. During this same afternoon as well, a severe t-storm had been observed from people in the Red Bluff, CA area, ushering in Midwest-type weather: heavy hail and a tornado warning! Indeed, the state had witnessed some unsettled weather this day. We may need all the rain (and snow) we can get, but since we've been having one storm after another so far this month (even with a day or so of a break in between storms), the region's soil was already saturated, leading to possible flood concerns especially near small creeks and rivers. This was storm number 11 so far this year, according to a weather forecaster that I've seen on TV! Yup, El Niño is surely here...

Weather scenario/update:
With weeks of rain and snow and more on the horizon for the Sierra Nevada and Northern California, state water officials have expressed cautious hope that this El Niño season may lift California out of its historic drought, or at least bring decent relief from it. “The recent rains have indeed put us on a good trajectory to perhaps having a shot out of the drought if it were to continue at the current rate,” said Doug Carlson, a spokesman with the California Department of Water Resources. As of Wednesday (Jan. 20, 2016), the northern Sierras have received 114% of the average rainfall typical during strong El Niño years... Closer to home, though the storms hitting the Bay Area are typical for the winter, they’re carrying more moisture because of El Niño. In addition, another significant storm was expected to arrive in Northern California over the weekend (Jan. 22-23). Looks like every storm we get was a little bit stronger than it would have been without El Niño. It's no doubt that we’re off to a good start. We just need this wet, unsettled weather pattern to continue for the rest of the winter...

(Video clips and pics taken Saturday, January 23, 2016 around San Jose, CA)