A repeated conversational topic of choice this winter in my neighbourhood has been the weather.

People have been talking about the recent drenching storms, the resulting amount of water flowing in and over the ground down from the local hill the area is built on, and how to keep all the wet out of basements and garages.

Flood barriers, absorbent mats and socks, sump pumps, downspout extensions, sandbags have been discussed — and, in many cases, used.

The atmospheric rivers are largely due to La Niña, a climate pattern characterized by the cooling of sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean that strengthens easterly trade winds.

These in turn push warm ocean water toward Asia and bring colder, nutrient-rich water to the surface near North America.

Unlike its opposite, El Niño, the system typically means wetter, cooler winters on the B.C. coast and more snow and cold farther east — all of which has come to pass over the last couple of months.

La Niña also reigned in 2021/2022, when a signature La Niña atmospheric river flooded the Lower Fraser Valley and washed out bridges, highways and rail lines. Affected communities were still recovering when last December’s storms........

© Times Colonist