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NOAA
2002-162 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Carmeyia Gillis 12/12/02 |
NOAA
News Releases 2002 NOAA Home Page NOAA Public Affairs |
Last week’s early dose of snow and ice in the Southeast and along the East Coast may be a glimpse of weather to come during Winter 2002-03, thanks to a moderate-strength El Niño digging in its heels. Top weather and climate experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) today said El Niño will set the stage for increased storm activity across the South. NOAA is an agency of the Commerce Department. At a press conference in Washington, NOAA officials updated its winter outlook, first issued in September, and said El Niño remains a key influence. “This is a classic El Niño pattern,” said retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “El Niño is one of the driving forces behind these kinds of winter storm systems, which develop in the South and head east. But in some cases this winter, these storms could bring more rain to parts of the East.” Lautenbacher added, “El Niño will shape weather patterns through spring 2003.” El Niño occurs when sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean remain above average for more than several months. This usually triggers a chain reaction of atmospheric and weather changes around the globe. Based on NOAA’s latest El Niño forecast and its updated December-February winter outlook, forecasters said the nation can expect warmer-than-normal temperatures across the northern half of the country, wetter and stormier-than-normal weather across the south from California through the Carolinas, and drier-than-normal conditions in the northern Rockies and Midwest. “Over time, these precipitation patterns can reduce lingering drought conditions that have plagued the southeast and southwest in recent years,” said retired Brig. Gen. Jack Kelly, director of NOAA’s National Weather Service. However, he added, “drought may intensify in the northern Rockies and parts of the Midwest.” Kelly said nine percent of the area east of the Mississippi River remains in drought, while 53 percent of the region west of the river remains in drought. In September, approximately 55 percent of each region was affected by drought. “El Niño most strongly impacts U.S. weather patterns during the winter by shifting the jet stream and storm track toward the southern tier of the country,” said Jim Laver, director of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC). “As a result, increased storminess is expected across the southern U.S.,” said Laver. The U.S. 2002/03 winter outlook for December-February calls for: Warmer-than-normal temperatures across the northern half of the country.
The CPC updates its El Niño Diagnostic Discussion and seasonal outlooks each month and they are available online. The CPC is one of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, which is part of the NOAA Weather Service. The CPC predicts and monitors El Niño and also produces the nation’s official long-range outlooks and medium-range weather forecasts. NOAA Weather Service is the primary source of weather data, forecasts and warnings for the United States and its territories and operates the most advanced weather and flood warning and forecast system in the world, helping to protect lives and property and enhance the national economy. On
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