Hi Lisa, I am sure there are research papers being written as we speak about the winter rains across the west coast last year.

As a note, last year's winter outlook had a slight tilt towards wetter conditions for much of Washington but Oregon and much of California had an equal chance for above, normal or below-average rainfall (southern California had a slight tilt towards drier than average). An equal chance forecast isn't necessarily an incredibly far off prediction. It's just an acknowledgment that sometimes signals for winter precipitation are conflicting or difficult to determine months in advance.