Maybe I should say, "winter???"...at least out here in the Pacific west.
From the Bend newspaper this morning:
Weather ‘completely unusual'
December may be among the driest on record
By Dylan J. Darling / The Bulletin
Published: December 23. 2011 4:00AM PST
Even if rain or snow falls on Bend as predicted between Christmas and New Year's Eve, this month could be one of the driest Decembers on record.
Bend's driest December came in 1976, when rare drought conditions during the winter left the city with no recorded rain or snowfall.Twelve years earlier, in 1964, a record 8.74 inches of precipitation fell.
The average high temperature in Bend this month has been close to 46 degrees, about 6 degrees more than a typical December, according to National Weather Service data collected at the Bend public works buildings near Pilot Butte.
The dry spell has been particularly surprising because it's happening during what those in the weather world call a La Niña event, Dello said. During a La Niña, colder-than-average ocean temperatures in the Pacific Ocean around the Equator cause storm tracks across North America to shift over the Northwest.
Typically that means more snow and rain than normal. “Skiers love La Niña because it usually means large snowpacks,” Dello said.
For about a month a high-pressure system has been parked over the Northwest, she said, pushing storms to the north and south. The last time a measurable amount of precipitation fell in Bend was on Nov. 23, said Diana Hayden, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Pendleton.
It's been a little warmer than normal...but there have been plenty of nights where the temperature definitely felt like full-on winter (thanks to the high-pressure clear skies)...but dry, dry, dry.
What's wrong with this La Niña?
Maybe it's really not La Niña but actually her brother, El Niño, in drag.
From the Bend newspaper this morning:
Weather ‘completely unusual'
December may be among the driest on record
By Dylan J. Darling / The Bulletin
Published: December 23. 2011 4:00AM PST
Even if rain or snow falls on Bend as predicted between Christmas and New Year's Eve, this month could be one of the driest Decembers on record.
Bend's driest December came in 1976, when rare drought conditions during the winter left the city with no recorded rain or snowfall.Twelve years earlier, in 1964, a record 8.74 inches of precipitation fell.
The average high temperature in Bend this month has been close to 46 degrees, about 6 degrees more than a typical December, according to National Weather Service data collected at the Bend public works buildings near Pilot Butte.
The dry spell has been particularly surprising because it's happening during what those in the weather world call a La Niña event, Dello said. During a La Niña, colder-than-average ocean temperatures in the Pacific Ocean around the Equator cause storm tracks across North America to shift over the Northwest.
Typically that means more snow and rain than normal. “Skiers love La Niña because it usually means large snowpacks,” Dello said.
For about a month a high-pressure system has been parked over the Northwest, she said, pushing storms to the north and south. The last time a measurable amount of precipitation fell in Bend was on Nov. 23, said Diana Hayden, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Pendleton.
It's been a little warmer than normal...but there have been plenty of nights where the temperature definitely felt like full-on winter (thanks to the high-pressure clear skies)...but dry, dry, dry.
What's wrong with this La Niña?
Maybe it's really not La Niña but actually her brother, El Niño, in drag.
