Wow... Just looked in the database for rain totals for Jan and Feb; yeah, LAX got significantly more than twice the rain as Seattle this year so far. (My numbers were for October to just before this latest rain spell.)
As to the El Nino comment, there is, at best, a weak El Nino this year. Weak El Nino dynamics tend not to correlate strongly with, well, much of anything in North America. There are a bunch of other natural cycles which get less press and have had much more impact on the climate than the El Nino cycle, IMHO. In many ways, some of these cycles are much less well understood than El Nino as well.
However, once this system we've got setting up now actually DOES set up, things *should* get better. We hope. :>
(Would you believe this is what I'm doing for a living now? :> )
Re: ???
As to the El Nino comment, there is, at best, a weak El Nino this year. Weak El Nino dynamics tend not to correlate strongly with, well, much of anything in North America. There are a bunch of other natural cycles which get less press and have had much more impact on the climate than the El Nino cycle, IMHO. In many ways, some of these cycles are much less well understood than El Nino as well.
However, once this system we've got setting up now actually DOES set up, things *should* get better. We hope. :>
(Would you believe this is what I'm doing for a living now? :> )