Chris, Molly, and Adam talk about coming out of La Nina in the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO). As of the middle of May 2021 the Climate Prediction Center has declared that we are exiting the La Nina phase of ENSO.
The three meteorologists explain what ENSO is and why we care about it in the U.S. The different phases of La Nina, neutral, or El Nino coincide with sea surface temperature anomalies in the Pacific Ocean found near the equator off the coast of South America. ENSO and other large scale oscillations can effect long term weather patterns across the globe. In La Nina it isn’t uncommon for Great Lakes winters to be cold and rough, but that pattern adjusts when ENSO phases shift.
There is an indication from long range models that La Nina could make a return Fall/Winter of 2021. A very short neutral phase, but models are a less accurate when forecasting in the spring for next Fall. Overall ENSO Spring modeling can be tricky.
For more on ENSO and what it is check out NOAA’s website and updates on what other large scale phenomena effect our weather check out the latest from NOAA’s weather blog and see Chris’s story he posted about this topic.
