Saturday, March 26, 2016

Ugh to cooler than average springtime temps

UGH...UGH...I SAY... Just when we want warmth, we get the following (from weather.com):
April usually brings thoughts or at least hopes of warmer temperatures, but as the calendar turns the page this year that desired warmth may be hard to find for some thanks to a big pattern change.
March has been a very warm month for most of the U.S. Numerous locations from the Rockies to the East Coast, with the exception of much of the South, are in position to see a top five warmest March.
  Heading into early April, however, a surge of colder temperatures is expected to push southward into the Midwest and portions of the East. Exactly how far south and how cold temperatures will be are a bit uncertain at this time, but an overall chilly forecast is anticipated.
These colder conditions are due to a southward plunge of the jet stream, in response to a blocking ridge of high pressure over the Pacific Northwest, that will allow chillier temperatures to spread from Canada into the Midwest and East.
One of factors that will be playing a role in this April chill is the split the stratospheric vortex underwent in mid-March. This is expected to result in negative Arctic Oscillation conditions in early April, which typically translates to below-average temperatures in the Eastern U.S., with warmer than average conditions in the West.

No comments: