El Nino on the Horizon

By Cindy Poore

According to a recent article in the Los Angeles times, El Niño is a sure thing. Los Angeles area is supposed to get 60% above average rainfall during the months of January, February and March. That statistic was confirmed by Bill Patzert, climatologist with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge who said in the article,  “I’m quite optimistic that the entire state is going to get hosed”. ( Hosed being a very technical term for WET!)

This is going to make things difficult for lots of us.  We have been conserving on our water all year. Now, it is going to be wet, very wet!

New challenges come with too much water versus too little.  The first thing that you will notice is the ground will get saturated early on and continued rainfall just rolls off into puddles, lakes and actual new streams all across your property!

Not sure if you are good in the drainage department? Prepare by buying straw wattles and sand bags. Store them in a dry location so you can get to them when needed.

If you are lucky, your lot is properly graded and you (or previous owners) haven’t added anything that prevents the natural run off of excess water.  If you are unsure, ask us to check the grade on your property and help you  spot problems before they happen.

Before it gets too late, lets look at a few other things you can do to prevent problems.
Check your gutters and valleys on your roof.  Blown leaves and dirt can accumulate in these areas, causing back up which will make water back up and get under your roof and cause water damage inside.

Clear piles, equipment and debris away from the house foundation.  This will help water move away from your home and reduce the chances of flooding.

Check your outdoor lighting. Longer night hours mean we will be coming and going in the dark. Maybe you need some additional lighting outdoors to make that easier?

With rain, comes weeds. Call us to apply a weed killer and preventer now to keep your yard nearly weed-free all spring and summer! Before weeds show up is the best time to apply a pre-emergent weed control.

Several years ago, we had a very wet winter and even though people wanted us to spray their weeds, we couldn’t because it was too wet or windy and the weeds went wild! Early is better in this case.