(IMAGE: From NOAA's Climate Prediction Center report this week- depicting the dip in the Jet Stream that's been keeping the Eastern U.S. Colder than normal since Nov. 1, 2008).
I'm in my meteorologist mode this week (you can tell by the postings), and yesterday, the NOAA Climate Prediction Center (the organization that forecasts La Nina and El Nino events) came out with their latest update on the La Nina in the eastern Pacific.
As I've mentioned, La Nina changes the Jet Stream and has caused it to dip further south than normal since Nov. 1st bringing us Colder than normal temperatures for almost SIX MONTHS. (The Jet Stream is a "ribbon of air" that travels hundreds of miles per hour, located between the troposphere and stratosphere, about 8 miles high, that separates the cold arctic air from the warm tropical air, and the boundary in which storms (low pressure areas) travel).
THEIR FORECAST: Synopsis: A transition to ENSO(El Nino/southern Oscillation) -neutral conditions is expected during April 2009.
WHAT'S HAPPENING: Atmospheric and oceanic conditions during March 2009 continued to reflect weak La Niña conditions (thus, the continued DIP in the jet stream and colder than normal temperatures along the U.S. east coast). The monthly sea surface temperatures (SST) remain below-average across parts of the east-central and eastern Pacific Ocean.
So, if La Nina will be out of the picture by the end of April, there may also be a lag time in "righting" the Jet Stream, so we could STILL have colder than normal temperatures into EARLY MAY.
That means a jump from Winter to Summer here in the Baltimore/Washington area. Thaaat's great. (NOT).
No comments:
Post a Comment