Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Hello winter

Although by definition, meteorological winter begins today, you're going to have to wait quite a while before it's going to snow. In the DC area, winter doesn't really begin until January. Compound that with the strong El-Nino flooding the CONUS with mild pacific air, and viola, no snow. Temperatures in December are expected to remain well above average. The subtropical jet stream is also expected to crank up going into the winter so this month should be wet. In any case, it's not time to panic yet. If we enter mid January with no pattern change in site, then panic. Meanwhile, enjoy the warmth.

On a side note, check out this visualization of the abnormally warm sea surface temperatures in the Tropical Pacific associated with the El-Nino from earth.nullschool.net.