Strong El Nino winter may lead to below-average snowfall in Canada, U.S.
globalnews.caEl Nino, U.S. forecasters say — if past years are any indication.Officials at the U.S.
Climate Prediction Center (CPC) published a blog post last week looking at El Nino winters dating back to 1959, and found that the weather phenomenon generally leads to below-average snowfall across much of southern Canada and northern U.S. states.The Pacific Northwest, northern Rockies and Great Lakes regions are particularly impacted, the analysis found, and have seen between 15 to 25 cm less snow between January and March compared to regular winters.During so-called moderate or strong El Nino winters — like the kind forecast this year — the impact is even stronger.“Stronger El Niño events tend to land a larger punch on our atmosphere, thus increasing the chance of seeing expected El Niño impacts,” the post reads.El Nino is a natural climate phenomenon that occurs every three to five years in which surface waters of the central and eastern Pacific become unusually warm, causing changes in weather patterns around the world.During the winter, El Nino sends a jet stream, which moves storm fronts, on an unusual path that is dominated by warmer and wetter Pacific air plunging south.That means the southern U.S.
typically sees above-average snowfall during an El Nino winter — yet total accumulations in those states are still unlikely to match the snowfall seen in the north. The CPC analysis also found northern Quebec and Labrador have seen up to 25 more cm of snow than average during the phenomenon.Historically, snowfall in central U.S.
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