Skip to footer

Could a Pineapple Express save California from drought?

Seth Rogen's and James Franco's favorite weather pattern is slated to bring much-needed rainfall to drought-stricken California. Will it be enough to combat the arid conditions?  

|
NOAA/AP
FILE PHOTO- Satellite imagery from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows a "Pineapple Express," a storm front extending from west of Hawaii and aimed directly at California from December of 2014.

It has been dubbed the "Pineapple Express" and it's taking the West Coast by storm.

Both literally and figuratively.

Social media is buzzing about the weather pattern because it shares the same name as the popular 2008 Seth Rogen and James Franco movie.

The Pacific Ocean-originating storm system  is forecast to drop more than 10 inches of much-needed rain in Northern California and Washington State this weekend, according to the National Weather Service. The NWS has already released flash-flood warnings, heavy rain, and high wind gusts for the region.

NBC News reported the storm had initially left some 60,000 people without power in the San Francisco Bay Area, and by Friday night that number had been reduced to approximately 9,000. The high winds have knocked down multiple power lines and trees since the storm made landfall. Numerous communities were under flood-watch in Northern California, and minor mudslides have been reported in Washington, according to Reuters 

However, this storm does not technically meet the criteria for a Pineapple Express. So what exactly is this weather pattern that brings winter rain from the mid-Pacific?

A true Pineapple Express is a continual build up of tropical moisture that extends from Hawaii all the way to the West Coast and produces major rain storms, according to AccuWeather. The moisture needs to be guided into the storm and it acts as the fuel for the weather pattern.

The storm system now hitting the West Coast is powered by tropical moisture but it is also fed by a strong east-west jet stream that usually runs through the north-central Pacific Ocean, according to AccuWeather. 

"Pineapple expresses are not known for wind, they're known for rain," Accuweather meteorologist Bernie Rayno says. "If this was a true pineapple connection, rainfall amounts would be double what we're seeing now."

Though this storm will provide some relief to parts of California dealing with a severe drought, it will not be a panacea. The temperature of the tropical moisture will not allow for the accumulation of snowpack  in the mountain areas, according to Reuters. The snowpack is more crucial to drought recovery because it stores a third of the water needed by residents and agriculture, according to NBC.

California’s drought has been one of the worst in history and it has affected more than 37 million people, according to the United States Drought Monitor, or USDM. The USDM reports that since the start of the water year, which began on Sept. 30, 2014, over 58 percent of Californians have been living in “exceptional drought” conditions.  

After six weeks of dry conditions, the current storm system is providing some welcome rainfall. It just won't be nearly enough to reduce the drought conditions.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Could a Pineapple Express save California from drought?
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/0207/Could-a-Pineapple-Express-save-California-from-drought
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe