Updraft: February 6, 2009 Archive

El Nino Watch?

Posted at 1:59 PM on February 6, 2009 by Paul Huttner (1 Comments)

We have a new kind of watch to tell you about. This one is not about tornadoes or floods, it's about climate.

In the first of its kind "climate watch" NOAA unveiled a new system this week for warning of impending El Nino and La Nina events. The new system will give a watch if El Nino or La Nina conditions are expected to develop within the next three months. An advisory will be posted for ongoing conditions, such as the current La Nina phase we are currently in.

There are documentable weather and climate shifts on the seasonal scale during different ENSO phases. La Nina winters favor rigorous winters in the Midwest such as this year. El Nino winters tend to be milder here and wet in the desert southwest and southern states.

It's interesting that NOAA is adopting these watches. It may help give local and state governments and many sectors of the economy a heads up on what future weather or seasons may bring.

PH

Comment on this post