La Nina exits after three weak months, leaving Earth in neutral climate state
WASHINGTON (AP) — See you later La Nina, we hardly knew you.
La Nina, the natural cooling flip side of the better known and warmer El Nino climate phenomenon, has dwindled away after just three months. The La Nina that appeared in January, months later than forecast, was a weak one, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday.
Earth is now in a neutral setting in the El Nino Southern Oscillation cycle, which is generally the most benign of the three states that help influence hurricane formation, droughts, floods and global temperatures. NOAA forecasts the neutral setting to last most if not all of 2025. That makes longer-term weather forecasts a bit trickier because one of the major factors is not pushing one way or the other.
La Nina is an irregular rising of unusually cold water in a key part of the central equatorial Pacific that changes weather patterns worldwide. It typically brings more Atlantic hurricanes in the summer, but it won't be a factor this year. In the United States, La Ninas tend to cause drier weather in the South and West and often make it wetter in parts of Indonesia, northern Australia and southern Africa.
Studies have found that La Ninas tend to be costlier than El Ninos and neutral conditions.
Before this three-month La Nina, the world had an unusually long three-year La Nina that ended in 2023.
___
The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
NOAA debuts artificial intelligence models for hurricane season
The Brief The National Weather Service is rehiring more than 100 employees after mass layoffs. This will be the first hurricane season NOAA uses AI models in forecasts. Experts say the technology could reduce forecasting errors—but humans still lead the effort. TAMPA, Fla. - The National Weather Service is testing artificial intelligence for the first time this hurricane season. What we know NOAA officials say AI models will now join the suite of tools meteorologists use to track storm development and intensity. Follow FOX 13 on YouTube What they're saying Wallace Hogsett, a science and operations officer for NOAA, told FOX 13 this marks a pivotal year: "We were looking at [AI models] a little last year, but this is the first year they will be a part of the suite of models that we're looking at." He explained that traditional models involve solving complicated equations, and take a lot of computing power, so AI can help speed it up, and decrease errors. READ: Hillsborough County seeks feedback to decide how to spend $700 million in hurricane recovery funds "AI models, on the other hand, are looking at 30, 40, 50 years of four-dimensional data and processing all of that information very quickly, recognizing patterns and producing a forecast," said Hogsett. "We're hoping that these models will help continue the trend of lower errors in both track and intensity forecasts, which will allow people to have a clearer picture of the risk that they and their families will be under." FOX 13 Chief Meteorologist Paul Dellegatto agrees AI is promising — but not a replacement: "We look at this model, we look at that model, and now we look at AI models… it's simply another tool we use to forecast … I think AI is probably the future, but we're not there yet." What's next If forecasters find AI models reliable this season, NOAA says the tech could be permanently integrated into future forecasting operations. The Source This article is based on interviews conducted with National Weather Service scientists and FOX 13 Chief Meteorologist Paul Dellegatto. WATCH FOX 13 NEWS: STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app:Apple |Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
New York Post
6 hours ago
- New York Post
Lawnmowers at ‘unplayable' US Open golf course go viral
Lawn lovers, behold the wild scenes playing out at the US Open golf tournament this week. The US Open has long been renowned as arguably the most difficult of the four golf majors, with birdies hard to come by on the course chosen for the major. It's no different at this year's course, the Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania, where keeping the ball on the fairway will be more important than usual. 6 A line of greenskeepers mowing the rough at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa., on Monday. X / @usopengolf US Open organisers are notorious for keeping the rough on the edge of the fairway so tall that it's nearly impossible to find your ball if it lands in the long grass, and even harder to hit it out of there. Footage shared by the US Open this week of the thick rough being tamed by greenkeepers shows just how tricky it will be to play at Oakmont. An army of Oakmont Country Club greenkeepers armed with lawnmowers have been wading through the rough to try and make things slightly easier. Videos circulating on social media show that a ball dropped from knee height into the rough is almost completely lost in the thick stuff. 6 Footage shared by the US Open this week of the thick rough being tamed by greenkeepers shows just how tricky it will be to play at Oakmont. AP 6 An army of Oakmont Country Club greenkeepers armed with lawnmowers have been wading through the rough to try and make things slightly easier. X / @usopengolf Sportswriter Chris Harlan described the scene: 'Oakmont Country Club has a fleet of lawnmowers out today for the US Open.' Golf fans were stunned by the rough grass, as well as the fact the ground staff opted to used push mowers instead of tractor mowers. One person commented: 'I can't think of a more inefficient way to do things than mowing a golf course with push mowers.' Another said: 'There's gotta be a better way in today's world.' Golfer Jhonattan Vegas wrote on X: 'Good news guys, they are cutting the rough but, it's still unplayable. Have fun.' Fox Sports golf expert Paul Gow told he expects it to a golfer's nightmare this week, and the player that keeps their cool the most will come out on top. 'This is the best week of the year, you get to watch golf pros get upset with themselves,' Gow chuckled. 'Oakmont is one of the hardest golf courses in the world. It requires a player to hit so many different shots. 'It's a frustrating golf course because there's a lot of different angles and 175 bunkers around the golf course. You've got to navigate yourself around 'The rough is nice and deep so there's an emphasis on hitting it on the fairway. 6 The rough surrounding a fairway bunker on the 18th hole gets cut during a practice round for the 2025 US Open golf championship at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pa., Monday, June 9, 2025. AP 'Some of the scores to win the US Open here have been over par. 'It's one of those golf courses the players love to hate because the greens get up ridiculously quick — quicker than Royal Melbourne. 'The greens will be running at 14 and a half to 15 on the stint meter. That will make difficult putting. And they're big, large greens that move the ball around a lot. And there's these little subtle breaks that will really frustrate the players. 'It's one of those places that a player needs to turn up with a really, really good attitude. If they don't, well, the most will pack their bags on Friday afternoon and go home.' Fresh off his PGA Championship win, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is chasing his fourth major title and first US Open victory. 6 A general view of the third hole during a practice round prior to the 125th U.S. OPEN at Oakmont Country Club on June 10, 2025 in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. Getty Images Scheffler is in a stellar patch of form having won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, the PGA Championship and the Memorial Tournament in the past month. 'You can't go past Scheffler,' Gow said. 'I like Jon Rahm, he definitely is trending towards a better week. He played well at the PGA Championships at Quail Hollow. He fell over the last couple of holes, but he drove the ball really well. 'But you can't go away from Scottie Scheffler, it's just ridiculous how good he's playing, he's definitely the in-form player.' Australia's Marc Leishman will play his first major since 2022, while Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott, Cameron Smith, Cameron Davis and Jason Day are the other Aussies playing this week. It will be Scott's 96th consecutive appearance at a major. 6 US Open organisers are notorious for keeping the rough on the edge of the fairway so tall that it's nearly impossible to find your ball if it lands in the long grass, and even harder to hit it out of there. X / @usopengolf Players have voiced their concerns for just how difficult it will be to play in the conditions at Oakmont this week. Rory McIlroy, chasing his second major of the year after his Masters triumph, struggled playing the course during a practice round last week. 'Last Monday felt impossible,' McIlroy said. 'I birdied the last two holes for 81. It felt pretty good, it didn't feel like I played that badly. It's much more benign right now than it was that Monday. They had the pins in dicey locations and greens were running at 15.5 (on the stimpmeter measuring green speed). 'It was nearly impossible. This morning it was a little softer. The pins aren't going to be on 3 or 4 per cent slopes all the time. 'If you put it in the fairway, it's certainly playable. But then you just have to think about leaving your ball below the hole and just trying to make as many pars as you can. You get yourself in the way of a few birdies, that's a bonus. 'I'm glad we have spotters out there because last Monday you hit a ball off the fairway and you were looking for a good couple of minutes just to find it. It's very penal if you miss. Sometimes it's penal if you don't miss. 'The person with the most patience and the best attitude this week is the one that's going to win.'
Hamilton Spectator
17 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Chesapeake Bay health grade dips after hottest year on record and extreme rainfall patterns
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — The health of the Chesapeake Bay declined in an annual report card on the nation's largest estuary released Tuesday, with scientists noting the effect of extreme rainfall patterns during the hottest year on record. The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science gave the bay a C grade in its report card. That compares to a C-plus grade the bay received last year , which was the highest grade it had received since 2002. 'There was a substantial upturn in the overall Bay Health score in 2024, and it came down a little this year,' said Heath Kelsey, director of UMCES Integration and Application Network. 'Over the long term, though, there is still an improving trend from the 1980s until now. We think extreme weather may have had some impact on the scores this year.' The report noted that last year was the hottest year on record , with extreme rainfall patterns. 'While parts of the watershed experienced drought, brief but intense downpours can cause water to flow over the ground rather than soak into it, increasing the fertilizer, dirt, and debris carried into waterways,' the report said. Bill Dennison, vice president for Science Application at UMCES, said the changing climate is definitely having an effect on the bay. 'One of the things that we saw in Maryland, in particular, was a prolonged summer drought — not so much spring, but a summer drought — punctuated by these extreme runoff events,' Dennison said. 'So what was happening was that the crops didn't have enough water, so they're not soaking up the nutrients.' As a result, when it did rain, there were excess nutrients, like nitrogen and phosphorus, that were flowing into the bay, Dennison said. 'Now sadly, this is kind of our future,' Dennison said at a news conference at the Annapolis Maritime Museum near the bay. 'This is the kind of weather patterns that are starting to become more common, which is drought punctuated by extreme events.' Warmer weather winters and higher temperatures mean less oxygen in the water for aquatic life, stressing fish and shellfish, Dennison added. 'So these are some of the things that we have to overcome and build more resilience into our system,' Dennison said. Despite the grade drop, the report cited long-term improvements in dissolved oxygen in the bay's waters. That's the amount of oxygen present in the water that is needed to support bay aquatic life. The report also noted long-term improvements in aquatic grasses, which provide habitat and food for various species, improve water quality and protect shorelines from erosion. Phosphorus and nitrogen levels also have improved in the long-term in another positive sign. While they are needed by the bay's organisms, excessive nitrogen and phosphorus degrade the bay's water quality. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus fuel algal blooms that can cloud the water and block sunlight from reaching underwater grasses. Water clarity and chlorophyll-a scores, however, have declining long-term trends, the report said. Chlorophyll-a in the bay is an indicator of phytoplankton abundance and water quality. Improving trends can be attributed to management and restoration efforts at the regional, state, and local levels, the report said. Regionally, wastewater treatment plants have been upgraded and programs have been put in place to reduce nutrient and sediment input. The health of the bay is a reflection of what's happening across its six-state watershed, which includes Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia along with the District of Columbia. UMCES, which is marking its 100th anniversary, also provides a grade for the overall watershed health in its report card. It gave the watershed a grade of C-plus. The watershed health grade includes ecological, societal and economic indicators. The most concerning societal indicator was heat vulnerability, the report said, noting communities may be under heat stress due to hotter air temperatures, less tree canopy cover, and more paved surfaces.
