Holy Moly! Our weather has been wet lately. Really wet. No, not as wet as a tsunami and it will not leave as much devastation as was left in Japan. But it is really wet for us. I am glad I teach Nia inside. It has been raining for days, but for us, here in San Jose we have had hours, even a day when it has stopped. This is La Niña. I had to look it up, because when my husband and I got married 13 years ago there was El Niño. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: “The 1997/98 El Niño ranks as one of the major climatic events of this century.”
The administration studied the information available and was able to predict as early as January 1997 that the winter of 1997/98 was going to be wet. As the year progressed they became more confident with their predictions of heavy rainfall and flooding. So I had heard all of this while planning our outdoor wedding. We had a plan if it rained or if the ground was too wet, good thing because that is what ended up happening. It rained the day of and the ground was too wet for us to be outside. Because El Niño is a warm type of storm pattern we were actually able to go outside for a few pictures.
This storm we are having now is cold. That is why I looked it up because I remember hearing that this year was an La Niña year and I didn’t know the difference between the El Niño and the La Niña. Colder than normal temperatures is the characteristics of La Niña. Another characteristic is that it follows El Niño. I remember there being rain last winter, but it didn’t seem more than normal and the temperatures weren’t as cold. It seems as if we have these weather patterns all the time. I guess we only really hear about them when they are really severe.
Right now the rain is causing flooding and landslides. We are fortunate because with raining happening non-stop in some areas there can be planning and people can take precautions. There is time in some cases to prepare. Not always, early this week I heard that an area where there was only one way in and one way out got closed off. The gulch had a landslide so those that were IN the neighborhood were stuck and those that were out were stuck. Some people are being evacuated. My heart goes out to them. I hope they remain safe and are able to come back to a home intact.
I’m just thinking out loud. I was curious about the weather. I also keep thinking that this is a long period of rain, but I keep thinking 40 days and 40 nights must have really seemed like forever. Also as much water as we are getting it is still not as much as Japan. I guess I keep thinking about Japan. I hope you are too, not to dwell and be upset, but to hold space for them. To pray for them and to think positive thoughts.
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