Winter Seen Bringing Cold to Some, Drought Relief to Others
“Winter weather conditions will be guided by El Niño, which should be based in the central Pacific Ocean, rather than a more typical full Pacific Basin El Niño,” said Jeff Johnson, certified consulting meteorologist at DTN. “While winter may start out fairly benign for most of the country, conditions will intensify and we’ll experience dramatic changes throughout the winter.”
DTN’s team of meteorologists anticipate that the Polar Vortex will rear its ugly head in the second half of winter, driving colder air southward into the eastern two-thirds of the country. It will feature shots of intense cold air at times and will likely push the main storm track south to the Gulf Coast.
In terms of snow, DTN has indicated that there will likely be bouts of intense lake effect snow in the North Central U.S. and southerners may experience wintry precipitation events, something they are less accustomed to handling. “While we anticipate this winter will not linger quite as long as the 2017-2018 winter season, we do believe California and other areas of the West will start to see some relief from the droughts that have been plaguing them for some time,” said Nate Hamblin, long-range team lead at DTN. “We expect to see January and February produce increased rain and mountain snow across California and the Desert Southwest. We’ll be watching though for periods of intense precipitation, which could lead to flooding and mudslides.”
(SOURCE: The Weekly Propane Newsletter, October 15, 2018. Contact BPN to receive your trial subscription to the Weekly Propane Newsletter.)
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