Last year a lot of people were like "oh, drought schmout, El Niño is coming." And then it didn't happen. Hopefully
this time.
The El Niño hitting the mountains of the north is critical because California's vast waterworks rely on rain and snow from the Sierra to supply farms and cities. By contrast, much of the rain that falls in Southern California ends up in the ocean.
Experts are becoming more optimistic about El Niño's northern reach.
Only three months ago, all of California had an equal chance of a wet or a dry winter. But in May, the scales began to turn in favor of a wet winter.
