Winter Weather Outlook Pt 1
From the Ag Information Network, this is today’s Fruit Grower Report. Well, we're kicking off the new year with some interesting weather, to say the least, with a lot of snow in the mountains and strong storms across Washington.
Cliff Mass, Atmospheric Sciences professor at the University of Washington, says we are in the midst of a La Nina, a weak La Nina, but it has implications for the winter …
MASS … “We tend to be cooler than normal. We tend to have more snow in the mountains, a greater chance of snow in the Cascades and the mountains around here as well. So, cooler, maybe a little bit wetter, and definitely more snow, especially in the mountains.”
And we’re off to a good start …
MASS … “Oh yeah, well the snow is pretty good, you know, so the snowpack is way above normal at this point.”
But Mass says there’s probably more to come …
MASS … “In fact, it tends to be more profound after the new year, so the correlation is even better after the new year than before.”
Which will mean what? …
MASS … “Typically, you know, we’re a little cooler, a little more chance of a lowland snow than typical. It’s a weak La Nina year so we have a good chance of getting the big windstorms. Big windstorms like weak El Ninos and weak La Ninas and we’re definitely in one of those, and we’ve already had some of that action, so. Anyway, it tends to be a more interesting year than the strong El Nino years we’ve been having.”
Tune in tomorrow for more on what to expect in our La Nina winter.
