Latest news with #LaNiñas
The Hill
4 days ago
- Climate
- The Hill
A short La Niña is coming soon. What does that mean for weather near you?
(NEXSTAR) – The U.S. is on 'La Niña watch,' according to a new forecast issued by the Climate Prediction Center on Thursday. The Center predicts La Niña will form in the fall, influencing the weather we see in the latter part of the year. This year's La Niña is expected to be short and weak, much like the one we saw last winter. But that doesn't mean its impact on the weather will necessarily be weak. In hindsight, the 2024-25 winter season 'bore the telltale signs of a La Niña influence,' explained meteorologist Nat Johnson. In a typical La Niña year, the southern half of the country will get drier, warmer weather, while the Pacific Northwest and Ohio Valley get more precipitation than normal. Back to school already? Why the academic year keeps getting shifted earlier That's pretty much what happened last winter, despite the 'weak' La Niña. 'In particular, most of the southern U.S. and northern Mexico were predicted to be and turned out to be drier than average, with record-dry conditions in southern Arizona and parts of New Mexico,' Johnson said. 'Wetter conditions were forecasted and did prevail over the northern part of the continent, particularly in Alaska and parts of the Pacific Northwest, as well as much farther south in Central America.' It wasn't a perfect forecast – east Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky and western Virginia got some pretty wet weather – but overall, the La Niña pattern played out, Johnson said. Even though this year's La Niña is expected to dissipate before the end of winter, its influence is still most likely to be visible in the peak winter months, explained Michelle L'Heureux, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center. Both La Niña and El Niño tend to have their strongest influence over the weather in the winter. If this year's La Niña turns out to be perfectly typical, the winter precipitation around the country would look like the map below: a dry season for California and the South, but a wetter or snowier season in the blue patches of the northern and Midwest states. One way La Niña could have an influence sooner is on hurricane season, which runs through the end of November. La Niñas are typically associated with a stronger, busier hurricane season. In its updated hurricane forecast released this month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said there is a 50% chance of an above-normal hurricane season, a 35% chance of a near-normal season and a 15% chance of a quieter season.
Euronews
12-04-2025
- Climate
- Euronews
La Niña has ended after three weak months. What does it mean for Europe's weather?
ADVERTISEMENT La Niña, the natural cooling flip side of the better-known and warmer El Niño climate phenomenon, has dwindled away after just three months. The La Niña that appeared in January, months later than forecast, was a weak one, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said on Thursday. Earth is now in a neutral stage of the El Niño Southern Oscillation cycle, which is generally the most benign of the three states that influence hurricane formation, droughts, floods and global temperatures. What does the end of La Niña mean for this year's weather? NOAA forecasts the current 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 used to determine global patterns is not pushing one way or the other. La Niña 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 Niñas 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 Niñas tend to be costlier than El Niños and neutral conditions. Last year, this phase of the cycle brought drought, food shortages and deadly heat in some parts of the world. What does La Niña do to Europe's weather? The biggest sign of La Niña in Europe can be found during winter. This is because of something called a teleconnection mechanism - large-scale weather patterns in other parts of the world that interact with those closer to home. Two different areas in the Pacific are being monitored: the Central Pacific (CP) and the Eastern Pacific (EP). It is important to differentiate between the two because what is happening in these two basins has different impacts on our weather . 'If the strongest cold anomaly during La Niña is in the EP region, the North Atlantic and western European region tends to weaker storms or low-pressure systems and more blocking highs which often leads to drier and sometimes colder conditions,' Lars Lowinski, a meteorologist at Weather & Radar, told Euronews Green earlier this year. 'However, a cold anomaly in the CP region tends to result in a pattern that resembles a so-called positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) pattern, with a stronger jet stream and more storm activity across the near Atlantic and western Europe, resulting in milder, wetter and windier conditions.' Related Cacti, iguanas and El Niño: How erratic weather is disturbing a fragile ecosystem on the Galápagos Girls in Southern Africa are being married off in exchange for food amid El Niño drought That's what happens in theory, Lowinski clarified, but other major players can affect our European weather like the NAO, winds in the stratosphere near the equator and even tropical convection over the Indian Ocean. However, with the current return to neutral conditions before summer 2025, there likely won't be any strong tendencies either way this time. ADVERTISEMENT Despite this, 2025 is still likely to be among the three hottest years on record , according to the UK's weather and climate agency, the Met Office. And, with this March the hottest on record in Europe, there could be harsher heat waves and wildfires to come this summer.
Washington Post
21-03-2025
- Climate
- Washington Post
It's not your imagination: It's been unusually windy in D.C. this year.
A parade of wind storms has battered the Washington region since February — howling gusts repeatedly toppling trees and cutting power to thousands. Although late winter and early spring are typically the windiest times of year, the frequency of strong gusts this year has been outside the norm. A cold front that swept through the area Thursday evening delivered yet another siege of powerful gusts as Friday began. The frequency of high winds is probably tied to the La Niña climate pattern. La Niñas tend to favor more storms passing to the north of D.C. These storms drag cold fronts through the area that incite strong gusts. The National Weather Service has issued eight wind advisories and one high wind warning for D.C. so far this year, which is more than just about any other non-mountainous location in the eastern United States. Gusts have surpassed 50 mph on seven different days. In February, they topped 60 mph on consecutive days for the first time in at least 30 years. There have already been more days with gusts over 50 mph this year (7) than all of last year (6). This year has produced more such days through March than any other since the late 1990s. The next closest was four in 2021. A gust of 64 mph on Feb. 16 marked D.C.'s strongest since a 68 mph gust in May 2019. It's uncertain whether the onslaught of gusts this year and others recently signifies a change in the climate. While the number of days with gusts over 50 mph and wind advisories issued by the Weather Service have trended upward in recent years, that may be tied to more La Niña climate patterns than normal. An analysis of maximum daily wind speed over the course of years shows little change. Generally, wind data is more difficult to obtain and analyze than other weather variables, which makes it hard to draw strong conclusions. Most of the high wind events this year have been triggered by passing cold fronts, with strong changes in pressure following, mixing down faster winds from a few thousand feet above the ground. Three events stand out. The first and most significant wind event occurred Feb. 16 and 17. The D.C. area experienced an extended period of damaging gusts connected with a strong cold front and rapidly intensifying low-pressure system. A trifecta of processes — large differences in pressure over small distances, a surge in pressure after the front passed, and downward mixing of momentum — maintained a howling west-northwest wind at 30 to 35 mph. Dozens of gusts from 58 to 76 mph were observed across our region. The highest gusts, over 65 mph, were found along the Blue Ridge and Appalachian ridgelines, which project up into the fast wind layer a few thousand feet higher than surroundings. The gusts easily validated the high-wind warnings issued for the area. These are alerts issued when gusts, not generated by thunderstorms, exceed 55 mph. They are issued, on average, no more than once a year in the D.C. area. In some years, none are issued. That windstorm brought more than 150,000 outages to Maryland, Virginia and the District, some extending until the following night. A second interesting event occurred March 6, when strong gusts developed along a line of storms ahead of an approaching cold front. The storms lacked lightning and thunder, but downdrafts had the potential to mix down significant momentum from higher up. A severe thunderstorm warning would not have been appropriate, so the Weather Service issued a wind advisory lasting only a few hours. Reagan National Airport recorded a gust to 53 mph. The third standout wind advisory was March 16, within a robust zone of warm air ahead of an approaching cold front. Instead of high winds behind the front, strong gusts came on the warm side in advance. Within the surge of warm air heading northward, a narrow jet of intense low-level winds developed over the D.C. area. It's very difficult for high momentum aloft to mix to the surface in a warm, buoyant atmosphere, as the air has a tendency to rise, not sink toward the ground. Yet because of the unstable nature of this air mass, there was enough 'stirring' of the air to bring pockets of wind energy to the ground. Washington Dulles International Airport reported a gust to 47 mph. Jason Samenow contributed to this report.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Spring weather in Nashville area: What forecasters are predicting for the 2025 season
March 20 marks the arrival of spring, a time of renewal, warmer weather, blooming flowers — and tornadoes, as Tennessee experiences the majority of its severe weather from March until May. As the severe weather season approaches, there are no strong signals that it will be a slow or busy season, said National Weather Service Meteorologist Cory Mueller. Current La Niña conditions appear to be weakening, said Mueller, and while some past La Niñas have seen very active severe weather seasons, this generally occurs in moderate and strong La Niña patterns. "It's important to be prepared and have a severe weather plan as we head into the severe weather season," said Mueller. "And remember that even in "quiet" severe weather seasons we still see days with very active severe weather and can still see large tornadoes." Tornado season is ramping up: Track severe weather with charts and maps For Tennessee, the Climate Prediction Center is slightly favoring above normal temperatures and above normal precipitation from March until May. According to the forecast, Tennessee has between a 33-50% chance of seeing "above normal" temperatures and a between a 33-40% chance of seeing "above normal" precipitation. Here are the spring averages across the region: Nashville March: Average high of 63, low of 40 and 5 inches of precipitation April: Average high of 73, low of 49 and 5 inches of precipitation May: Average high of 80, low of 59 and 5 inches of precipitation Clarksville March: Average high of 60, low of 38 and 4 inches of precipitation April: Average high of 70, low of 47 and 5 inches of precipitation May: Average high of 78, low of 57 and 5 inches of precipitation Crossville March: Average high of 56, low of 36 and 5 inches of precipitation April: Average high of 66, low of 44 and 5 inches of precipitation May: Average high of 73, low of 53 and 5 inches of precipitation Tennessee experiences most of its tornadoes from March to May, with April being the most active month tornado activity, reported the weather service. Based on weather service data from 1995 to 2024, Tennessee averages 31 tornadoes annually, with the majority occurring in Middle Tennessee. April 27, 2011: 30 April 3, 1974: 24 Jan. 30, 2013: 24 May 6-7, 1984: 18 Dec. 10-11, 2021: 16 Diana Leyva covers trending news and service journalism for The Tennessean. Contact her at Dleyva@ or follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @_leyvadiana This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville area weather outlook: What will spring be like in Middle TN
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Colder, snowier February was a boon for some businesses
A year ago at this time, John Bacarella was ruing the chilly but open waters of Lake St. Clair. He owns Sportsmen's Direct, a Harrison Township bait and tackle shop just outside of Lake St. Clair Metropark, and a second straight winter of an unfrozen lake was decimating the ice-fishing business he relies upon in winter to make his cash register ring. "A very significant percentage of our annual income — more than in the summer by a wide margin — comes from ice fishing. No ice basically cripples us," Bacarella said in February 2024. This unusually cold, snowy winter, Lake St. Clair has been almost completely ice-covered throughout January and February. It has given Bacarella, his business and his ice-fishing customers a lake to stand on. "It's been amazing, absolutely night-and-day from last year," he said. Bacarella said he's seeing even more business than he remembered from previous frozen-lake winters, which he chalks up to pent-up demand. "It was a real godsend, I'll tell you, after a couple of years of no ice," he said. "It helped that the big-box stores have kind of given up on ice-fishing completely. They weren't prepared for it at all." It was a colder, snowier February than usual in southeast Michigan, though nothing near record-breaking. It perhaps felt that way, given the mild winters of recent previous years. Clipper system aims toward northern Michigan. How much will it snow this weekend? Uninsured costs from southwest Detroit water main break flood will be covered, mayor says The average February temperature through Thursday was 25.6 degrees, below the long-term average of 27.9 degrees, said Kevin Kacan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in White Lake. The high temperature did not reach or exceed the freezing point of 32 degrees on 13 days this February. "Last year, there were only two days in February 2024 where the temperature did not reach or exceed 32F," Kacan said. But one has to go back only to February 2022 to find the last time with 13 below-freezing days in the month, and there were 15 such days in 2021, he said. February snowfall in Detroit was 12.2 inches, a near-quadrupling of February 2024's 3.1-inch total but almost exactly meeting the long-term average snowfall weather for February of 12.1 inches. The Great Lakes overall were 52.25% ice-covered as recently as Feb. 21. A late-month warmup has knocked that back considerably, to 25.32% ice cover overall as of Thursday. That's in line with long-term winter ice cover averages of 52% going back to 1973. But the winters of 2022-23 and 2023-24 only brought maximum overall Great Lakes ice cover in the 18% to 20% range. A mild La Niña weather pattern has persisted in the Pacific Ocean this winter, a weather phenomenon marked by cooler-than-average surface water in the east-central Equatorial Pacific. It tends to influence weather patterns and the jet stream over North America, leading to cooler, wetter weather in the Great Lakes region. "La Niñas are very lucrative for snow plowers; you get an El Niño (a Pacific weather pattern with warmer surface temperatures that generally leads to milder winters in the Great Lakes Region), it's very bad," said Chris Chambers, owner of Baypointe Lawn and Snowplowing LLC in Waterford. The vast majority of snowplow companies work by seasonal contract, as the costs of expensive vehicles and plows are there regardless of how mild or severe the winter weather is, Chambers said. "If you didn't, you would be out of business after a couple of El Niño years," he said. This winter has meant far more frequent plowing for each customer. "It was a busier winter, and it's not over yet," Chambers said. "We'll probably get another one or two snowstorms." Contact Keith Matheny: kmatheny@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Colder, snowier February was a boon for some businesses
