El Nino  will always be big news...   ORIGINALLY WRITTEN DURING 'the'  EL NINO BUT STILL CURRENT TODAY, .        The El Nino of 1982-83 may go down as one of history's biggest forecasting blunders, and that's a good place to start in understanding the voluminous research, warnings and advice on how to prepare for and survive for a future El Nino incarnation. As a physical phenomenon, the recent El Nino covered an ocean area that is 1.5 times the size of the continental United States with water temperature changes that extended half a mile or more below the surface. This shoves enormous amounts of heat and water into the atmosphere which travels around thru the jet stream and other heavenly rivers and oceans until conditions dictate condensation AKA... RAIN. An El Nino can override powerful rivers in the ocean such as it did to the cold-water "Humboldt River" current and tide patterns. It also can prompt dramatic shifts in wildlife populations and wreck fishing and agriculture over much of the world. It can shift the high altitude jet stream, reverse traditional wind patterns and spawn devastating droughts and floods. It not only dwarfs all other weather related events such as hurricanes and tornadoes but can trigger them or suppress and deflect them. So how was it possible to miss forecasting all this for the first named El Nino in 1982-83 and why wasn't it detected in advance? The answer is that it was. Scientists detected the changes but they were so huge and so anomalous that they didn't understand or believe what they were seeing could actually be true. Computers were programmed to tight parameters for what was deemed actually possible and disregarded some factual incoming data as faulty. As a result, there was little accurate information before and during an El Nino episode that claimed at least 2,000 lives and caused $13 billion in damage around the world. Small wonder that the most recent El Nino had prompted more intense research and better computer modeling than ever, all with the goal of producing vital scientific information tailored to the needs and concerns of local, state and national governments. When these predictions came forth through the once trustworthy media the general public at large was very skeptical and scared at the same time. Its true that's there was no proof that the El Nino would have an impact Southern California as much as or more than the one 1982-83 but that did not make those warnings less factual or urgent. Although the panic was constantly aired throughout the media and sometimes completely ignored this did not make the data any less important and when the final numbers proved true and worthy we sang of praise for their saving of property and many lives. This is time of year we Californians traditionally prepare for fires, mudslides and flooding and now that things are back to normal we can look back at those warnings and actually say something good about government spending and the media itself...for a change. And those  people who ignored the 1982-83 El Nino warnings would tell you we were/are lucky but...... don't ignore the next one  Regarding Raingutters and water in the air AKA "rain".  please understand this; Raingutters will only take your roof water and bring it to the ground. Once the gutters and downspouts capture the water and direct it to a specific ground location..... The rest is up to you! The goal when installing raingutters is to direct the roof water runoff away from the building. If your lot slopes away from your building or if you have an underground drainage system to insert the downspouts into you should be fine and have done all that you can do. If you expect you new raingutters and downspouts to miraculously remove each and every drip from your property and take it away forever.... You are misinformed. If  you think this is funny you are correct because it happens all the time. Some people actually assume that new raingutters will do what they cannot just because the paid for them. After their first new rain they walk outside, look around, see it's wet and give ME a call so they can inform me that there is water on the sidewalk...    Then I must re-explain this... .... Raingutters will only take your roof water and bring it to the ground. From that point it will go wherever it wants....which is always ......... downhill. [ Home ] [ NEWS ] [ FAQ ] [ PICTURES ] [ FLASHING 101 ]