11-21 NWR La Nina Official

This is your Northwest report for Monday, November 21, I'm David Sparks. What seemed obvious weather-wise to some has become official with a declaration of La Nina.

Although it was assumed to be in effect for several weeks now, the Climate Prediction Center has officially declared that the La Nina weather system is here... and is here to stay for a while. USDA meteorologist Brad Rippe,... Why the declaration now? "The most important factor in having an official La Nina declared is that we have seen significant coupling with the atmosphere to the ocean. What that means is that the water has turned cooler than average across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific but most importantly, from a weather perspective, is that the atmosphere above it and near it is responding to that cool water." He says very La Nina

signs and impacts are already on display across the globe. Of particular note to the US... "Two of them have been the wetness in the Northwest and the dryness and the warmth across the southern United States. Those are both classic La Nina impacts that we expect to see from the fall through the following spring.

Elsewhere, according to agri-pulse.com's Philip Brasher, Kansas Rep. Tim Huelskamp expressed interest in becoming agriculture secretary in the Trump administration and said he has talked to "people in the room" with the transition. 

Huelskamp, one of the most conservative House GOP members, lost the Republican primary this year after an array of farm groups came out in favor of challenger Roger Marshall, a physician who went on to win the general election.