How Did Last Winter Compare to Other Recent Winters?

One of the first snow blowers

The COMPLETE WINTER SCORECARD going back to winter 2004-05!    

If you would like another metric added to this list, send me a note:

scott.sabol@fox8.com

December through February temperatures relative to 20 year average versus DJF snowfall for each winter season since 1940.  I highlighted some notable years for reference.

Preliminary WINTER 2016-17 Outlook

My HIGHLY Preliminary WINTER 2016-17 outlook showing the average temperatures for DECEMBER THROUGH FEBRUARY.  Yes it's early and no, its not too late to gather the pieces. This is will be revised later this summer and again in the fall.

It is looking more likely that a weak La Nina (this post back in early June describes La Nina) will be the driver from the tropics this upcoming winter. Last winter, we had a very strong El Nino.

Take a close look at the snowfall numbers vs the 30 year average for these LA NINA years. I put this graphic together in early June.  HINT...HINT!

Again, all of this is HIGHLY PRELIMINARY and will need to be updated in the fall. This is why no specifics are indicated just general thoughts.

Snowfall departures below are snowfall amounts vs the 30 year average in past La Nina winters

Warmth Continues...When Will It Flip To Winter?

No one is complaining about the above normal temperatures after the two past harsh winters. Above normal temperatures across the eastern 1/2 of the US.  This warmth is not unexpected given the strong El Nino reaching peak strength though I am somewhat surprised that the warmth has been this consistent.

It can't last forever.  So when will it flip or at least trend colder with higher chances of snow!

Remember our preliminary December outlook issued back in early September showed the core of the high pressure/warmth across the northern states into Canada with the core of the low pressure centers across the south (panhandle low type systems).

Through the first week or so, the core of each HIGH and LOW is much stronger than anticipated yet they are roughly in the same position as our forecast 3 months ago indicated. However, the southern lows (Panhandle type) are far weaker and, as of this writing--December 8th--are just now showing signs of developing. (see the smaller "Ls").

Since November, the warmth has been extensive with below normal temperatures in the west. Warmer colors indicate above normal temperatures, cooler colors below normal temperatures.

Some computer model projections have been bullish in tracking these southern lows further east and the warm ridge further north into Canada by the beginning of Christmas week.

The big questions for the end of the month and Christmas week: 1) How fast will the ridge lift north and 2) how strong will the low in the southwest/panhandle region push east?

We do know this: Any easterly migration of the southwest low along the southern jet stream will increase our chances of a wet panhandle-type snow by month's end. 

The chances we will receive wet snow from a panhandle low will climb further after the first of the year. 

The Upcoming Winter Weather (2015-16) MIGHT Look like This

North Country Public Radio

I'm thinking out loud today so bare with me.

Over the last few days, I was playing around with the constructed analogs of similar winter years. Using a set of 6 best fit years and weighting them equally, I constructed a blend for each month starting in November and ending with February showing the upper level pattern across the North American Continent. The color colors show where the storm system would develop (Low pressure). The warmer colors show where High Pressure systems reside.

The first burst of colder air occurs in November, the pattern relaxes in December then reloads after the first of the year. Can you see how the southern jet stream becomes very active, dominant force in the second half of the winter. February shows the much higher frequency and strength of low pressure systems from the southwest. This indicates a higher propensity for wetter snows from northern Texas, northeast into the Mid Atlantic states and Ohio Valley similar to 2010.


UPPER AIR PRESSURE (500 mB)

NOVEMBER BLEND

DECEMBER BLEND

JANUARY BLEND

FEBRUARY BLEND

SURFACE TEMPERATURES


Last winter's actual temperatures versus our Winter Outlook issued in October.  Not bad.

The overall temperatures for this winter according to the best matches are not as cold across the eastern 2/3rds of the US when compared to the winters of 2014-15 (recap of last winter at this link) or 2013-14.

NOVEMBER BLEND

DECEMBER BLEND

JANUARY BLEND

FEBRUARY BLEND

Snowfall departures (above or below average) are much higher in January and February during moderate to strong El Ninos especially when these El Ninos are more central based (Modoki, using the EMI Index). 

Will this strong El Nino have some central based signature tendencies? Maybe more eastern El Nino characteristics thus a warmer winter overall with little snow? 

The Constructive Analog from Huug van den Dool's page on the CPC site shows the core of the ENSO warmth in the ENSO 3.4 region with a slow drift WEST toward the Dateline by late winter.

Will this verify?  Only time will tell. 

Many meteorologists in the private sector don't like using the Analog Method too literally because the probability of finding an exact match over such a large area is incredibly small. I get that. However, I have found that analogs give a glimpse into how the atmosphere responds to the various drivers in closely matched years. This group of "best fits" for this winter has stayed consistent over the last several months.  Several notes: Analogs are only one of several tools that I use in assessing seasonal outlooks. El Nino is only one of the many factors that will play a role in our winter weather. I did not include any ENSO dynamic model guidance in this post. That is a story for another time.

A Deeper Look At The Top 10 El Ninos Since 1870

As this current El Nino continues to evolve, it helps to visualize how these changes in the tropical Pacific ocean temperatures drive the changes in the hemispheric circulation which impact our winter weather across the US.

How do we define an El Nino? The Climate Prediction Center uses the ONI (Oceanic Nino Index) to define El Nino and La Nina events. Their definition for El Nino/La Nina using the ONI is as follows:

An El Nino event is defined when the three month running mean of (ERSST.v4) sea surface temperature anomalies in the Niño 3.4 region climb above the threshold of 0.5^o for five consecutive overlapping three month periods.

In other words, we take the average ocean temperature anomaly in the 3.4 region over a 3 month period, say September through January.  Take the next five month overlapping periods--October through December and November through January--(the first two for example) and find these averages. That is your five consecutive, 3 month running mean. If this period's average is at or above +0.5 degrees, we classify this as an El Nino. The ERSST.v4 dataset goes back to 1850.  Using this methodology, the top 10 strongest E Ninos are easy to find. Hat tip to Eric Webb for compiling the ERSSTv4 data.

The top ten El Ninos are as follows:
1877-78, 1888-89, 1982-83, 1997-98, 1896-97, 1902-03, 1905-06, 1940-41, 1957-58, 1972-73
What do the sea surface temperatures for each of these El Ninos look like? I created an animation of each El Nino's six, three month overlapping period starting with the September-November period ending with the February-April period.  Each El Nino evolves differently. The position of the equatorial warm water, position and strength of the warm/cool pools in the PDO region are different with some, similar to others. Here is each sea surface temperature anomaly animation from the list above.

1877-78 El Nino

1888-89 El Nino

1982-83

1997-98

1896-97

1902-03

1905-06

1940-41

1957-58

1972-73

How does the atmosphere respond in each of these cases at the 300mB level?  More on this later.

What were the winter temperatures like in each of these strong (both eastern and central) El Ninos?


One glaring similarity is that each of these El Nino events (1888-89, 1940-41 and 1957-58) average temperatures across the eastern US stayed close or slightly above average in December and in January. Then in February, the bottom falls out and temperatures drop significantly below average across a large area of the east. If you look at the Pacific sea surface temperature configuration of these winters (eyeballing the ENSO region, Eastern Pacific/west coast/Gulf of Alaska regions and Pacific Meridional Mode area), they closely resemble this year!

 

Don't Be Fooled. Lots of Winter Left!

Winter arrived very early this year across much of the US. Per NOAA, the average contiguous U.S. temperature was 39.3°F, which is 2.4°F below the 20th century average. This ranked as the 16th coldest November in the 1895-2014 record, and was the coldest November since 2000.

US snowcover for the month was the most since 1966, a 48% increase from last (2013) November's snowcover.

November temperatures in northern Ohio were the 8th coldest on record at 37.1 degrees with a stretch of 9 days below 40. November snowfall was the most since 1996. We are ahead of last year  when we count days with at least ONE INCH of snow cover at 12 (only 9 as of Dec 9th last year).

Many people falsely believed that the arctic cold would continue into December. Look at the top 16 coldest Novembers (16th is this year) in the chart below. Then look at the Decembers that followed. The temperature ranks are no where as cold relative to normal. The Decembers that followed had an average temperature rank of....48th!  Only 2 cracked the top ten coldest.

Here is a comparison of November vs December through the 9th.  December temperatures are not as cold relative to normal. The coldest air has lifted back into central Canada.

So what does this mean looking into our winter future?

All of the factors that went into our winter weather outlook are still present and valid. Nothing has changed.

1) Central Based El Nino has developed or is developing depending on which index you use. This central based Pacific El Nino favors colder than normal temperatures across the eastern US. Note the warm pool along the equator and the smaller cool pools flanking it. The cool pools are indications of a Modoki along with warm pool extending along the west coast of North America.

Are their similar years to what we see above?  Yes.  Below is a blend of those similar years. The scale is a bit different but the warm and cool pools are in similar locations and intensities. They're not exact matches but they are close.

2) Warmer than average water off of the west coast along with the cool pool north of Hawaii strongly favor ridging in the western US, troughiness in the eastern US. The Pacific North American Index (or PNA Index) measures this tendency. In most Decembers where the PNA is more than +1, the temperatures across the eastern US are usually below normal.

 The forecast continues to favor a POSITIVE PNA into mid December.

3) The wild cards are always how the Arctic and North Atlantic will behave.  The Arctic Oscillation and North Atlantic Oscillations are indices that measure changes in the pressure patterns over each location. The AO is more of a player earlier in the winter, the NAO during the second half. If the indices are negative, the pressure patterns favor a more variable jet stream with a tendency for more cold air outbreaks.

4) The QBO (another wild card), read about it here, are stratospheric winds over the tropics which alternate direction easterly to westerly every 2 years. These easterly winds have been shown to disturb the Polar Vortex over the arctic making it more unstable. The propensity for cold outbreaks is higher across North America but not guaranteed. We monitor warming in the stratosphere over the arctic. Sudden warming can be a sign of a weakening of the jet stream and colder outbreaks. A good description of these warming events is on this site. Check out this site for more on Sudden Stratospheric Warming events and their potential effects on our winter weather.

Each one of these variables should not be overstated. One factor doesn't make-it or break-it. Our outlook is a blend of the combined influences that each one of these variables bring to the table. All told, our Winter Weather Outlook from early November still stands

HERE IS THE LINK

ABOVE NORMAL SNOWFALL AND BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES FOR NORTHERN OHIO FROM DECEMBER THROUGH FEBRUARY.