True. And as far as the AMO going off the charts positive the last few years, it has only served to magnify and feedback into the SE ridge/WAR and result in south-based -NAO blocks when one actually does show up. @bluewave has been all over it
I mean the AMO was positive back in 01-02 and that was our last dry winter. Yes, I know that it wasn’t as ridiculously positive as it is now, but still positive nonetheless
A “neutral” December based on what averages though? The new AGW ones? Or the old ones? And I went back and looked at it for myself, Chuck wasn’t kidding, it’s extremely ugly for Nov-Mar, every month (minus December) isn’t just above average, they are way above average
@brooklynwx99 I think the best case is a La Niña does develop. If we go cold-neutral, then we are at the mercy of all the other antecedent and background conditions in the absence of a signal from ENSO. And the best match for that is 2001-02 with this record breaking solar max. The strong Niña background state won’t be denied, the west PAC warm pool/MJO 4-6 won’t be denied, the -PDO won’t be denied and neither will the high solar flux. People made that mistake (ignoring solar flux) back in 2001
Of the recent Nina’s, over the last 30 years, where a similar scenario happened, you only had one translate into a really favorable AO winter (1995), the rest (2001, 2011, 2007), not so much…..
If you take a look at the animation, you can see the tropical instability waves (cooling) diffuse throughout region 3.4, pushing into region 4. That is not indicative of an east-based event. If you look at how a true east-based Niña develops (i.e. 2017), it was strictly confined to regions 1+2, 3 and the far eastern portion of 3.4. This one however, clearly is not…..
Yes there was -NAO blocking at that point but there was no arctic air to be had on our side of the pole. The UV was off the charts from September through late March, it heated the mid-latitude tropopause, shrunk and strengthened the SPV the AO went ++ and resulted in roaring zonal flow for months. The strong Niña background state, -PDO, etc. didn’t help matters either
That is true. Back in Dec. 2001, JB was hemming and hawing that a huge winter was coming because of that -NAO Dec. That was his infamous “vodka cold” winter. Nothing but screaming zonal and semizonal flow off the PAC for months on end courtesy of the relentless high solar onslaught
Really since 19-20, we haven’t had an overall robust +NAO/+AO winter. Given the signals so far this year however, that may change this coming winter. It’s a rather ugly picture getting painted
I was kind of joking lol I’m still confident we see a La Niña. However, if it fails and we really do go cold-neutral/La Nada, then my analog becomes 01-02. That part wasn’t a joke
Looks like a steady rise in the QBO this month. It officially just went positive (westerly) in June: https://acd-ext.gsfc.nasa.gov/Data_services/met/qbo/qbo_phase_plot.png