The northern part of the U.S. might be in for a mild winter.
That’s if predictions by government climatologists turn out to be true.
Mark Brush explains:
Transcript
The northern part of the U.S. might be in for a mild winter. That’s if predictions by
government climatologists turn out to be true. Mark Brush explains:
Warmer ocean temperatures in the Pacific are expected to drive changes in wind and
weather patterns over North America this winter. This climate event is commonly known as El
Niño. It means milder temperatures for the northern part of the country, and for the
southern part it means wetter than average conditions.
Mike Halpert is the head of forecast operations at the Climate Prediction Center for the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He says NOAA scientists were not
expecting El Niño effects this year, but recent warming trends in the Pacific Ocean
forced them to change their predictions:
“Right now it’s kind of hard to say how strong this event’s going to become. If the event
strengthens, as we anticipate it will, then I imagine the forecasts that we currently have,
which again favors warmth through much of the northern part of the country, will
remain.”
Halpert says the effects of El Niño will mostly be felt this winter and should subside by
next spring.
For the Environment Report, I’m Mark Brush.