Typically, the stronger the El Nino, the more pronounced the effects. Rain clouds form over the warmer water and carry the moisture inland, resulting in more precipitation than normal in South and Central America and in the U.S. It accumulates near South America before moving north to California and south toward Chile, NOAA says. weather this winter.Įl Niños happen when the Trade Winds weaken and cause the warmer water to move east. Warmer ocean water indicates an El Niño will likely develop later this year, flipping the wind direction and affecting U.S. Under normal conditions, the Trade Winds at the equator push the surface waters of the Pacific toward Asia from South America. La Niñas happen when the Trade Winds that blow east to west along the equator are abnormally strong, sending warm water from off the coast of South America, in the eastern Pacific, toward Asia and Australia, in the western Pacific. They can affect weather around the globe. Though an El Niño can affect weather during those seasons, its greatest impact here usually is seen from December to February.Įl Niños and their opposites, La Niñas, are naturally occurring events that develop from the interaction between the Pacific Ocean off South America and the atmosphere above it. He also likes North Carolina’s chances for getting that much snow this winter, as the El Niño that has developed is expected to strengthen through the summer and fall. “Just a couple of inches, that’s pretty and then goes away, and then I’m good,” Luchetti said. Luchetti, who got his fill of heavy snows that outlive their welcome while prognosticating in Blacksburg, Va., and Boulder, Colo., still likes one or two friendly snowfalls per year. But it also can mean sleet, freezing rain or just miserable, cold rain - a familiar phenomenon in Eastern North Carolina if not a not a technical weather term - depending on where on the map it hits and other atmospheric conditions in play at the time. In North Carolina, Luchetti noted, a winter storm can mean snow. tends to have cooler-than-normal temperatures and more precipitation than normal. Statistics show that in years with a strong El Niño, the Southeastern U.S. One of meteorologists’ favorite tools for determining future weather is studying past weather. 9, 2018, kids in Boylan Heights were already out with their sleds and working on snowmen. Although much of downtown Raleigh was quiet at daybreak Sunday morning, Dec.
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