Spring 2015 thread (Northern Hemisphere) (amounts, areas, ice, Chicago)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We haven't had a thunderstorm of any kind since early October.
Nice comparison pic of the snow and the melt in Kentucky 1 week later.. That would be a normal thing for here as well except this year its struggling to melt fast. Old snow harder to melt.. Its like pieces of ice instead of flakes after a while. I forgot what bare ground looks like. Lol
Due to the mild winter and lack of snow, the tons of sand which has been poured over the streets starts whirling around, causing really dusty air. And you really notice it.
Air quality today. Green = good, Violet = very bad:
High pressure keeps to build up over the weekend. Last cloud has been spotted here on Wednesday at 11am. But as the wind is from the East, it's not very warm yet. 45F here, which is though above average.
So what impact do El Nino events have on Chicago's climate?
Quote:
El Nino, a widespread warming of the surface waters of the equatorial Pacific Ocean, occurs every few years. When an El Nino is in progress, it causes changes in atmospheric wind patterns that have worldwide weather ramifications.
Past El Ninos have had little apparent effect on Chicago summers, but they have dramatically altered the winters. Our "El Nino winters" tend to be milder, drier and "quieter" than normal: fewer outbreaks of bitterly cold arctic air, fewer big storms and considerably less than our normal 40 inches of snow.
Recent experience has shown that El Nino is a reliable winter-weather predictor, but Vernon Kousky of the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center tells us that El Nino is absent this season, and no predictive information can be gleaned.
Ocean temperature changes in the western Pacific may signal the demise of the current strong El Nino this summer. But, that's months away.
We've checked and found Chicago experienced wet springs which started mild and turned cool during the 1972-73 and 1982-83 strong El Ninos. These wet springs were, in turn, followed by hotter than average summers.
Spring 1983 (March-May) produced 17.51" of precipitation (180% normal) here and spring 1973 saw 12.59" (130% normal). Average Chicago spring precipitation is 9.65"
Inconclusive computer model forecasts show a La Nina (reverse of El Nino) is ahead next winter. This hints at a much different winter next year.
No 50s in sight here.. Normal is mid-upper 40s now. So that means Below-Normal next 2 weeks.
Euro12z had 850mb temps dropping to single digits F. That means teens for lows, 20s for highs. Not uncommon for March but everyone wants more warmth. Gotta wait till April..maybe end of March at least.
Mon-Tuesday warmest days then Canadian High comes in with cold temps..
850mb temps for next Friday according to Euro
Monday Max. 40s for here. 50s in NJ. Upper 70s into Kansas! Get those Farms ready. :-)
Friday minimums. You can see it's all going to be about New England. Southwards wont feel the well below normal effects.
A sign of Spring. Looking like the pendulum swing of the Polar Jet Stream is more north and weaker. Eventually will stay in Canada. We're already seeing these are just shots of cold as opposed to sustained and south more with the Jet
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.