I'm having quite a bit of fun tweaking my California in-laws about the harsh and unpredictable weather out there in California. None of that for me here in Chicago, nosirree.

Ca is getting the kind of weather we are used to here in NC. Been too nice in NC as of late.

It's just crazy: I actually drove through some of it yesterday while returning home. In between cloudbursts, it was beautiful in the Central Valley, though. Just gorgeous.

I've been through more of those types of days that I care to remember. The type where you look up and see that funnel cloud.

I've never seen a funnel cloud in my life. I thought they were only on TV/movies . . . :)

As with any chaotic system every now and then you're going to have extreme conditions.

BTW, the last I heard this is not an El Nino year.

Current Conditions: Sunny. But clouds are on the way.

El Nino turned out to be mostly hype anyway.

AG, my understanding is that an El Nino year tends to exhibit certain conditions. But not always. When things line up just right (as in this year) you can get conditions such as what we're going through now. At the same time, if things line up just right even an El Nino year can be a tad ... usual.

The worst case would be a situation where we are having a full-blown El Nino, and circumstances shake out as they have. Back when we had the last big bout of rain storms word was San Diego County would be getting 3" in one day. Only had one inch as it turns out, but the possibility was there. A full blown El Nino this year could've made it much more possible.