[Proud90sKid]

It is expected to rain tonight in LA due to a passing frontal system. It will also make the winds less favorable for fire growth. It won't be long lived, but it is something. Now (or rather 3 weeks ago) would have been a great time for an atmospheric river event despite the risk of landslides. An atmospheric river is essentially when a frontal system sucks moisture from deep in the tropics and sends it all the way to the west coast. These are the biggest large scale rain events that California receives and they typically occur in winter. Unfortunately, southern coastal California has a Mediterranean climate which means "subtropical with dry summer" and as the months go on, the climatology of the region works against the chances of rain. Hopefully there isnt a big fire next year. Drought is probably related to the La Nina/anti-El Nino pattern of the Pacific. La Nina winters typically move the mean position of the jet stream and storm track northward of southern California and produce drier conditions. This pattern may unfortunately last through next winter but it is impossible to know for sure until after spring passes because El Nino Southern Oscillation is not well predicted over specifically the spring months (called the spring predictability barrier). Unfortunately there isnt a lot of model support for El Nino later this year(which would be a really good thing in terms of reduced hurricane activity in the Atlantic and increase in south Cali rainfall), but cool neutral would still be better for the state than a double dip La Nina.