Looks like the record rain and snowfall isn't over yet...
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601207&sid=ahJNJlCohan4
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601207&sid=ahJNJlCohan4
El Nino, a Pacific Ocean warming that has contributed to record-breaking snows across the U.S., will continue to affect the weather even as it steadily loses power, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.
The phenomenon probably will continue into June or July, according to a bureau update today. Sea surface temperatures in two of the areas used to measure the intensity of El Nino have fallen by 0.1 degree Celsius in the last two weeks, the bureau said. They have dropped between 0.5 and 0.6 degree in the last six weeks.
The impact of El Nino will linger for months, said Jeff Masters, co-founder of Weather Underground Inc. in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
“It heated the atmosphere over the Pacific to record levels,” Masters said by telephone prior to the release of Australia’s bulletin. “It will take some time for the atmosphere to lose all the heat.”
Enhanced Jet Stream
The El Nino effect comes from the creation of an enhanced Pacific jet stream that powers its way across the southern U.S., said Jim Rouiller, a senior energy meteorologist at Planalytics Inc.
The jet stream, carrying warm, moist air, collides with cold Canadian air to create the storms that have brought record snowfalls to Dallas, Washington and Baltimore, he said prior to the release of Australia’s update.
“That explains this unusually stormy pattern that we’re in and will likely remain for the next few weeks,” Rouiller said.
When El Nino finally collapses, it is likely to bring more severe weather to the U.S., forecasters said. El Nino helps block the formation of Atlantic hurricanes, and when it goes away another obstacle to a more-active season will be removed.