Forecasters are predicting an 85% chance that La Niña could last through the winter and a 60% chance it could last through the spring of 2021. This weather phenomenon is something that could contribute to increased chances of flooding here in Houston.
What is La Niña?
La Niña occurs when the tropical ocean waters near the equator of South America are colder as a result of stronger than normal trade winds pushing the warm water west towards Asia. The cold waters from the deeper parts of the ocean flow upward and the jet stream moves further north than its normal path. When this happens, part of the country gets heavier than normal precipitation and other areas, especially the southern part of the country, are often very dry.
What does this mean for flooding?
With La Niña, the Southwest often is dry. This is not a good combination in our already drought and fire-ridden locations. This could perpetuate even greater drought-like conditions that could blow up the 2021 fire season.
Areas stripped of all their vegetation and soil from fires are at an increased risk of flooding for years until the vegetation starts sprouting back to life. Hardpan ground that doesn’t absorb water sets the stage for flash floods when the rains do eventually make their appearance.
La Niña FAQs
- La Niña typically peaks during the winter months in North America.
- La Niña episodes typically last nine to 12 months, but some prolonged events may last for years.
- While their frequency can be quite irregular, El Niño and La Niña events occur on average every two to seven years.
- Typically, El Niño occurs more frequently than La Niña.
- During a La Niña year, winter temperatures are warmer than normal in the Southeast and cooler than normal in the Northwest.
With the arrival of La Niña, weather experts are predicting a heavy hurricane season. Around 17 storms are expected this year, eight of which will become hurricanes and, of those, four will become major (Category 3+) storms.
Your home insurance policy does NOT cover outside flood damage. You need a separate policy for that.
Contact a Texan Insurance agent today to get your flood insurance quote.
Sources: Climate.gov, NOAA.gov