According to weather forecasters, this winter an El Nino is set to hit California, resulting in a wetter-than usual rainy season. Reporter David Haldane spoke with local weatherman Ray Yeager about what El Nino will mean for the Morongo Basin…
Sandbags! That will be this winter’s catchword if amateur weatherman Ray Yeager’s predictions come true. When the long-awaited “mother-of-all-El Ninos” hits later this month, prepare to get wet. “We’re going to get more rain than average.”
While that annual average is usually 6.38 inches in Yucca Valley, according to Yeager, the last big El Nino brought more than 13.5 inches. All of which points to one conclusion: batten down the hatches and keep your eyes on the road.
At 81, the Yucca Valley man has been collecting and analyzing weather data in the Morongo Basin for 14 years. Yeager’s advice: “Sandbags around the house if you’re living below a hill. It will just keep the rain from getting into your house.”
Another problem, Yeager says, will be transportation.
“The last time we had lots of rain, 62 was just covered with mud. That’s probably the biggest impact…runoff from dirt roads.”
Ah, but the approaching dark cloud has a silver lining. “If we have a lot of rain, we will get wildflowers.”
LOCAL METEOROLOGIST SAYS GET THE SANDBAGS READY FOR EL NINO
