Hello, La Mesa!
San Diego is in the midst of a heat wave so it’s hard to think about winter storms, but it’s certainly on the minds of city officials and climate scientists who are preparing for a possible “super” El Niño.
Our former intern (and current contributor) Thomas Murphy checked in with the scientists at Scripps who explained what an El Niño is, and what is actually guaranteed.
Basically, the Pacific Ocean will be warmer no matter what this year. Whether that leads to extreme temperatures, rain storms and flooding in San Diego is harder to predict.
Climatologists all seemed pretty excited to study what will happen this year. They give the vibe of “isn’t science so cool?! Can’t wait to see how the coastline changes!” while San Diego grimly prepares for 500 emergency repairs.
A National Weather Service meteorologist in the San Diego office seemed more confident things might be, well, bad.
“There is a 69% chance of a historic event that will exceed the strength of previous El Niño events dating back to 1950,” Felix Castro told San Diego City Councilmembers last week. “We are talking here about a potential historic event, probably without any precedent before.”
Thankfully, La Mesa is inland so there’s no chance of coastal flooding. Instead, fast enough rainfall could lead to flooding in our FEMA-mapped flood zones, which track the likelihood of a place flooding.
La Mesa doesn’t have too many flood zones: A stint of Alvarado Road is pretty much it. But those in unincorporated La Mesa have a larger section along Avocado Road that FEMA maps as a flood zone. Plus, nearby Lake Murray has risks, as well as Federal Boulevard and the 94 in Lemon Grove, which I know many people commute through.
To double check your flood risk, you can head to FEMA’s website and type in your address.
I’m more worried about next year, which scientists already predict could be the hottest year on record.
Drew Sitton
La Mesa Courier newsletter host
La Mesa story spotlight
‘Super’ El Niño and San Diego – what scientists know now and what else they hope to learn
By Thomas Murphy • Times of San Diego
Researchers at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography are hard at work studying the formation of this El Niño.
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