I have noticed also, my stove is getting installed tomorrow. I found this article some interesting reading.
Pacific Decadal Oscillation's Cold Phase starting to show the signs
Posted: Tuesday, June 9, 2009
- Mark Vogan -
As far as the weather, climate or indeed atmosphere goes, generally we always see a "lag." When the oceanic conditions shift in small ways or greater ways effecting the long term, we nearly always see a lag.
The PDO (Pacific Decadal Oscillation) has been negative for some time now and is in my eyes nearing a peak, perhaps in the next 2-5 years. The past two consecutive winters across the United States has showed signs that we are seeing a fightback of winter. 2001-2002 was a very warm year. January 2006 was very warm also. But what I am seeing is continued "building" and expanding of a worryingly cold and getting colder air mass over the Northwest corner of the North America continent. In 2007-2009, we saw Alaska drop to 72 degrees below zero, one of the coldest two weeks of that winter for Interior Alaska.
Record snowfall hit the Intermountain West with areas of Utah, Wyoming, California, Idaho, Colorado and some New England ski areas seeing most snow on record. The cold shadow from winter 07-08 shifted east and is expanding with 08-09 seeing breathtaking cold over the heart of North America. It hit nearly 50 below in South and North Dakota and Minnesota. Maine dropped to an astonishing 50 below zero, setting a new cold benchmark for Maine and New England. Illinois arguably hit or tied it's cold benchmark of 36 below zero. Wind chills nearly 70 below zero froze the Northern Plains.
A lot of attention is drawn to La Nina and El Nino but we need to look at the "driver" and that's the Pacific Ocean. The back-to-back La Nina's where driven by a cold Pacific, eventually, ever so slowly, the feet is being swept from under the legs of Global Warming as we cannot dispute our world is getting colder once again.
Winter in Summer
Now, April, May and now June has been chilly across much of the lower 48. Canada's interior from Winnipeg to Churchill is still cold, even frozen with the last days of May seeing snow and freezing temperatures throughout the day in Churchill, Manitoba, the exception to the rule has been the Southwest up until about a week ago. The warmth has yet to arrive there across southern and central Canada yet it's now incredibly June 9. Just a couple of days ago we saw snow falling at Dickinson, North Dakota and areas of Montana saw upwards of 5 inches of snow with lows setting new records in the low 20s with highs only topping the 30s and 40s. International Falls, Minnesota hit 27 degrees for it's coldest so late in the season just days ago. Mt Washington, New Hampshire reported 83 mph winds, heavy snow and a record low of just 18 degrees on June 1. Win chills were likely between zero and 10 below zero!!. Same day Saranac Lake, New York reported heavy snow and 32 degrees, Bradford, Pennsylvania chilled to 29 degrees. This like last June's 40 inches of snow at Browning, Montana, the 48 inch blizzard in the South Dakota badlands in May and the increase in late season record lows are all signs of cooling in spring and the lingering effects from an increasingly cold winter, the late season chill means shorter summer warmth, I expect to see earlier signs of winter in the next few years, (remember Buffalo's October blizzard?) rather than late season warmth which recently has taken us into October, November and in some cases December.
I am beginning to see winter lingering into spring now more and more and this year, what's literally summer even though it's now officially summer is still chilly and April-like. Reason I say that is because, by June I have seen 110s in the Desert Southwest by now. Phoenix and Las Vegas has cooled considerably because of an unusual trough and storm system that has penetrated the West Coast with rain, wind and yes, mountain snow. California is not warm at all. LA has seen high's for about a week now some 5-12 degrees below normal, it's raining there at times along with thunder and lightning. Even the inland valleys aren't that warm, high's struggling to get above 80 degrees. We should be seeing 90s this time of year. June gloom should be the rule these days with thick fog and stratus cloud in the morning with mid-day burn off and bright sunshine, 60s and 70s along the coast, 80s for basin and 90s to low 100s from the inland valleys and canyons to desert.
I believe the reasons for colder springs and early starts to winter is because the PDO is finally kicking in with the atmosphere by cooling off the Arctic regions, the deeper and longer the cold is, the more expansive it becomes during the winter months, a deeper, greater reservoir (cold) takes longer to shrink and dry up, puddles form in the end game of a season (spring) and creates problems in the warming process when high pressure cells such as the Pacific High tries to push north, the colder, denser air and it's trough's force resistance and that is what we're seeing with the Pacific high displaced out off the West Coast and a dominant trough has taken charge. For so long, cold trough's have been weak and easily pushed aside by warm dome's such as the Pacific high. Same is true for the Bermuda high that has been further north than it should be during winter because the warm Atlantic has allowed it to keep the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic warm in winter, but that is changing too, just take a look at Atlantic water temperatures in the tropical belt (where it counts).
All this is thanks to the PDO starting to charge the atmosphere. I do believe we have a cooler Western summer than normal, we are already behind in the warming, instead of 100s for Las Vegas and Phoenix, it's 90s. Instead of 80s, 90s and low 100s from LA to Riverside to Palm Springs, it's 70s and 80s with only 90s in Palm Springs.
The Pacific Ocean is going to give birth to an El Nino later this summer, reason being, we can't hold onto a La Nina forever, eventually it must swing the other way. Because of the "weak" El Nino prospects for late summer, fall and into next winter. I see a very harsh winter ahead for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic coming, big snows and bitter cold. New York, Philadelphia, Washington will see lows get below zero next winter and this is simply the next chapter. It will remain cold this summer across central and northern Canada with perhaps a short wi
