I use the Multivariate ENSO Index , which is considered by many meteorologists to be the best overall measure of the strength of El Nino/La Nina. The graph of MEI.v2 since 1979 is repeated here for convenience. The moderate La Nina of 2020-21 has persisted for two years. With its strongest reading of -1.9 in … Continue reading Ski Areas Favored by La Nina (as of 2022)
2021-22 was overall distinctly below average, 86% of normal, due to that extreme midwinter drought. However December was the big snowfall month, allowing record U.S. skier visits along with the emergence from COVID restrictions. 2021-22 was a moderate La Nina season, and snowfall was more favorable in northern regions, notably in November, early January and … Continue reading 2021-22 Ski Season Summary
Washington, DC – Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center released the U.S. Winter Outlook today, with La Nina potentially emerging for the second year in a row as the biggest wildcard in how this year’s winter will shape up. Private weather forecaster Accuweather agrees. La Nina has a 55- … Continue reading U.S. Ski Season Forecast: Return of La Nina?
Washington, DC – In early February, Punxsutawney Phil, the nation’s most famous groundhog, saw his shadow and “predicted” six more weeks of winter for the U.S. He couldn’t have been more wrong. In fact, an unseasonably warm February helped to boost winter temperatures for most areas east of the Rocky Mountains. And while parts of the … Continue reading U.S. Had 2nd Warmest February and 6th Warmest Winter On Record
Washington, DC – If the climate records of late 2016 were any indication, January 2017’s balmy global temperatures — and record-small polar ice extents — will come as no surprise. January’s average global temperature was 1.58ºF above the 20th Century average of 53.6 degrees, according to the analysis by scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. … Continue reading January 2017 Was the Globe’s 3rd Warmest Ever
Washington, DC – Are record snowstorms proof that global warming isn’t happening? The short answer is no, according to a report released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In fact, rising global temperatures may actually be contributing to increasing snowstorm intensity. Snowstorms require two things: moisture and freezing air temperatures. There are plenty … Continue reading Record Snowstorms Don’t Dispel Theory of Global Warming
Alta, UT – On what should have been Alta Ski Area’s opening weekend on Saturday, a handful of skiers burned wooden skis in a sacrificial offering to the Norse god of winter, while skiers and riders hit a homemade kicker built on a strip of man-made snow above the resort’s Wildcat base. They were all celebrating Ullr’s overdue return … Continue reading Warm Autumn Frustrates Western Skiers
