Weather Service Says We’re In El Nino Pattern
The Climate Prediction Center issued a press release today, declaring that El Nino conditions have developed in the Pacific Ocean, and there is a possibility that we will have a moderate El Nino through this winter. El Nino conditions occur when sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific ocean are warmer than normal.
During years with El Nino patterns, the gulf coast area is typically cooler and wetter than normal, while the northwest is typically warmer and dryer. We most recently had El Nino conditions during the winter of 2002-2003, and prior to that in 1994-1995 and 1997-1998.
The Weather Service is blaming the El Nino conditions for the fewer than predicted number of hurricanes this year. I’m not sure how much it will affect us here in the Atlanta area — we may be too far away from the coast for the pattern to have an effect on our winter weather.
Meanwhile, we got some much needed precipitation today, with almost two inches of rain since last evening. Today’s high temperature of 66 degrees was 17 degrees below normal — the result of cooler air trapped against the Blue Ridge mountains beneath the low pressure system that brought rain from West to East.
The clouds should move out tomorrow, and it looks like we’ll have pleasant weather through the weekend. After that, one model is predicting a cool blast, with lows in the mid 50s for the middle of next week.
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