Winter is only two months away! And yes, we have some bleak news for cold and snow lovers. It’s been so warm due to a Super El Nino in the Pacific. The ocean water has been hot, and it has been influencing our climate on the East Coast. What does that imply for our winter?
Well, I think that since there is that HUGE area of warm water to the west of South America and Central America, it’s going to heat up the air above it in a massive way. And that hot air will be included in the Southeast or even the Eastern half of the Country.
So what does that mean for temperatures? You guessed it. I don’t think we’re going to have any prolonged cold spells. Maybe a few that last a few days but that’s it. And then the temperatures will rebound quickly.
The mountains might be the only location where winter-like temperatures happen the most, but it won’t feel like winter the entire time. There will be some mild spells. For the rest of the Piedmont and Coastal Plain, we might see 70s on Christmas Day or even New Year’s Eve.
And there will be more severe storms associated with strong cold fronts that move through at times. We could see more similar situations like the tornadoes and wind that Isaias brought to our region.
But what does that mean for overall precipitation? I think most this winter will be in the form of a cold rain. Now the wildcard is will most of us remain drier than normal or wetter than normal. For locations such as the mountains, they might be able to make their own snow with machines this season, and they could get some natural snow.
But for the rest of us, I’m leaning towards a boring winter, with mild temperatures and any Arctic outbreaks will be infrequent and transient. There could be more nor’easters, but they will impact mainly the coasts. I am leaning towards warm and wet, or warm and normal rain amounts.
Of course stay tuned to this site and Carolina Weather Authority on Facebook as Meteorologist Mike G. brings the latest and if these conditions change.
-CWA
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