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Meteorologists Now Able To Get Better Idea Of Wet Weather Ahead

By Abbott Dutton

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - We can't blame El Niño for our storms just yet, but that's expected to change soon. In fact, today is when meteorologists start to get a better idea of the wet weather ahead.

At the National Weather Service in Sacramento, the monitors are beginning to light up. January is when meteorologists get a clearer picture.

"With those past El Niño events generally, the signal for above-normal precipitation in California don't manifest itself until January 1," said Tom Dang, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

And on this January 1, the word is?

"Above-normal precipitation in California. Again it's not a guarantee, but it certainly does give us hope for the rest of the winter," said Dang.

El Niño storms in the Deep South and Midwest have brought devastating flooding.

Northern California's had "cold" storms so far, which has helped build up the sierra snowpack, but warmer El Niño-generated storms may change that.

"It could very well be colder type storms as well. So, it's really difficult to say at this point but warmer-type storms would probably bring a fair amount of snowmelt," he said.

After years of drought, there's lots of room in our reservoirs for snowmelt.

Even with a strong El Niño, there's still no guarantee California won't be in the fifth year of drought.

"You have to be ready for both scenarios. California tends to be either feast or famine, flood or drought, so you just have to be prepared for everything," he said.

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