Forecasters usually say, “Bring an umbrella, because it’s going to rain!” But, this winter you may need to bring a boat because of El Niño. El Niño is a weather phenomenon that occurs once every two to seven years, impacting many countries all over the world. It is warmer-than-normal water over the Eastern Pacific that causes the jet stream to go right over Southern California. A jet stream is a thin band of heavy, fast winds over the Earth’s surface. With El Niño, the jet stream comes down from the Polar Region, moving south and further east, down to Southern California. Although El Niño and La Niña are both opposing weather patterns, El Niño is more common than La Niña. During winter, it causes wetter conditions than normal in the southern US and drier conditions in the North. El Niño’s impacts can vary every few years but there is much concern about El Nino this year.
When it comes to CSArts, the biggest concerns are about the rain, and the amount of flooding El Niño could cause. Oliver Wainwright, a 10th grader, stated his concerns for El Niño. He feels that there is going to be a bit of flooding and rain. Because California is a historically dry place, the amount of rain could be problematic. The sea level is also a problem. Waves from storms cause damage, but warmer water also expands, making the problem worse.
Mr Blair, a former meteorologist and the current Journalism teacher at CSArts is most preoccupied with Duarte’s drainage systems. The amount of rainfall over the span of 3 to 4 months could be hard on the systems. The month El Niño started was unusual compared to the others. Usually, El Niño starts in October through March. El Niño has already started, and the amount of heat is unlike any El Niño we’ve witnessed in history. Therefore, it’s hard to determine what exactly it will be like. There are many neighborhoods and schools who have been preparing for El Niño, and taking precautions for it early on.
Mr. Metoyer, Assistant Principal of CSArts says CSArts is taking steps to prepare for El Niño. “With the anticipation of the increased rains this year, our school-based team has reached out to Duarte Unified because they are not only our charter authorizer, but they are vague, hold the lease over the property. So they’re responsible for many of the upgrades. I mean, many of the, much of the maintenance big picture, when we’re responsible for the everyday maintenance, but big things like, you know, roofs, ceilings, walls, plumbing. A lot of the time, Duarte Unified is the entity responsible for that. So we asked for an inspection last week, in anticipation of the rain, and there’s already been one inspection today in the music building, and we’re looking forward to more in the 100s and 200s,” said Metoyer.
In order to prepare for the rain, CSArts will use sandbags along with all of DUSD. It is difficult to determine the full impact that El Niño will have, but so far, we’ve already witnessed rain and increased water levels. When water expands, the storm track will be right over Southern California, and the subtropical jet stream is like a fire hose. This subtropical jet would bring winds of enormous strength.
No matter what El Niño may bring, there are many things we can do to prepare for it. Mr Metoyer has been arranging inspections for CSArts in an effort to safeguard our community, and the more we know, the more we can prepare. El Niño is here, but by raising awareness, we can do our best as a community to protect ourselves from it.
Doomed to Scroll!