Weather Wednesday: What is an Omega Block?
Why is it called an Omega Block? Well, it happens when our jet stream gets stuck in a shape that looks like the Greek letter omega (Ω), which can be seen on upper air maps like the one below. This is one of the many weather patterns that can either bring us fantastic weather or some soggy weather like we have seen lately.
(WLNS) Areas in green and blue represent low pressure with red and orange being high pressure
(WLNS) Jet stream looks like an Omega symbol (Ω)
Again, why is this the case? Well, Omega Blocks occur when two low-pressure systems (one somewhere over the east coast and one somewhere over the west coast) become cut off from the main flow of the jet stream and can't move because they are stuck in that one place. Somewhere in the middle of the two low-pressure systems, there is a strong high-pressure system, which adds another factor to why the low-pressure systems struggle to move.
Due to the size of this system, it tends to stay in place for days or weeks at a time and can bring widely different weather to the population underneath both systems. Pleasant and warm weather comes to those under the high-pressure system, with soggy, cool weather to those under the low-pressure systems.
For the end of April and the beginning of May, the closed-off low-pressure systems stalled over the Tennessee and Ohio Valley as well as parts of the Southwestern United States. States like Pennsylvania, New York and even Connecticut saw flooding rain and cool temperatures, while over in the Southwest, the ground looked like it had snowed, but it wasn't snow, it was hail that fell!
So, the reason why we have been so soggy is because of our location relative to the low-pressure system to the south of us that was stalled in the Tennessee and Ohio valley. Depending on the location of the Omega block, Michigan can be under the influence of the high-pressure system that would bring sunshine, quiet, and warm weather. It all depends on where we are in relation to the blocking setup.
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