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June 2008
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It has been a long and chilly spring. Most temperatures have been unseasonably cool. June has brought a spat of near record-cold high temperatures. So some of you may be asking...and perhaps screaming...why? Blame our good friend La Nina. This phenomenon - the cooler-than-average Pacific waters - cause worldwide changes to the atmospheric winds and weather patterns. It's bringing cooler-than-average temperatures into the Northwest. The good news is that La Nina is weakening. So we'll see a nice warmup for the summer, right? Not so fast. Even though La Nina is breaking down, the weather patterns created by it have a sort of momentum...and that momentum means that this cool pattern may last well into summer. That's not to say it's going to be cloudy and cool all summer. Our bright July sunshine should arrive right on schedule. It just could be a bit cooler than what you might expect. And one final note - I need to add an asterisk to all this (I'm a meteorologist, you know I had to do it). Our expectation for cooler-than-average temperatures this summer is based on the long-range outlook from the Climate Prediction Center. But it's just that - an outlook. It may still change. We'll keep you posted! Joe 4 CommentsLeave a comment |
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Joe,
Our ocean cooling is not "La Nina".
Havent you herd that we are going through global warming? This phenomenon (global warming) is melting the polar ice witch in turn cools the ocean, witch slows the ocean curents and slows the warming of our summer to come. IF it does come?
(My opinion)
La Nina is a phenomenon and real but used as a scape goat for what we don't truely understand.
Global Warming is real as well, however not caused by us. I will say that what we do with our polution dont help but we are not causing the global warming. It is simply part of the earth's cycle.
Thanks for your time.
Bob.
I've seen the stats that say that it's been cooler than average, but not wetter.
What about greyer than average? Haven't we just had an awful lot of cloudy skies? That's what's getting me down.
Bob,
It's believed that La Nina is caused from an upwelling of cold Pacific water. The actual cause of this is still being studied. I haven't seen any scientific data to support the idea that La Nina is caused by melting polar ice.
That's not to say polar ice isn't melting, because it seems as though it is. And as far as global warming is concerned, most scientists would agree that it is being caused by human interactions with our natural environment. It's true that the Earth can warm and cool naturally, but the degree of warming the the Earth is currently experiencing can not be explained without factoring in the human element.
Joe Michaels
Virginia,
You've got it - it hasn't necessarily been wetter than normal, but because of our abnormally cool weather the moisture we have had around has had trouble evaporating. So it has seemed like it's been wetter than normal, and I suppose in a sense it has been.
As far as the clouds go, you've got it right there again - there have been an abnormally high number of cloudy days. Typically we see several clear days throughout the spring months, but this spring has brought only 5 - just five clear days since March 1. And none so far in June. Amazing.
Joe Michaels