El Nino and Winter
At this point, everyone and their mother should know what El Nino is. We again refer to it as the warming of the pacific equatorial waters (off the coast of Northern South America). We have seen abnormal weather conditions as a result in the Midwestern and Northeastern part of the country. In fact, here in New York we saw 32 consecutive days of above normal temperatures. Not only has it been a mild winter so far, but there has been no measurable frozen precipitation. The El Nino in 2006-2007 has been a weak to moderate El Nino. However, after looking at the time lapse ocean temperatures, it looks like El Nino may be winding down. Notice the reds and oranges which are above normal temperatures shrink to just orange which shows cooler water. What does this mean for the rest of the winter? I'd say we probably have a good shot at some cold and snow the rest of the season.
