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La Nina Update: It's taking a little longer to arrive

What it means for this winter

La Nina Update: It's taking a little longer to arrive

What it means for this winter

Well, earlier today, we got an update from the Climate Prediction Center who has been tracking El Nino and La Nina. Now, last winter was an El Nino winter for us. And because of its strength, it's usually, you know, very easy for us to quickly swing in the opposite direction to La Nina. Now, what exactly is Nino, what exactly is La Nina is basically the um departure from normal and the sea surface temperatures out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and it has *** role on our weather. So in this case, La Nina that we are tracking as we go into the next couple of months occurs when you have below average temperatures out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean between Australia and South America that tends to move the jet stream around. And so uh it can play, you know, *** pretty big role in our weather even here in Oklahoma. So we were talking over the last couple of months about La Nina coming in, certainly possibly this summer. But some of the new data that rolled in just moments ago says that obviously that is not gonna happen. This has been *** very slow progression to La Nina, which means that here, what the Climate Prediction Center is now saying is that there is now *** 66% chance that we'll see La Nina developing as early as September, that's not particularly high though, usually we don't really see La Nina most pronounced until the winter months. That's usually how history, uh you know, kind of goes with these type of events. And so you can see here that number is now 74% for, for November to January. So that means that we have delayed the arrival of La Nina. Obviously, it's not gonna come in here this summer. And now it looks like we may not begin to see the effects of it more so until we go into the winter months. So looking at some of the weather model data that is coming in right now, typically here in Oklahoma and it's not always the case, but we would at least favor being mild and dry if everything went according to textbook with La Nina, although it usually never does go according to textbook, right? But you can see the data kind of starting to pick up on this because look at all this blue that we have for December, January and February typically, uh we can get some pretty cold winters out across the north, colder than normal and the south can be *** bit warmer than normal. So you can see that variation, right. Now pretty easily, which means that some of the newest data is beginning to now highlight that if we are to see La Nina and its role in our weather may not occur and it's probably not gonna occur obviously until the winter months. So let me kind of break down what happens. Oklahoma really isn't *** battleground when it comes to impacts. Um It's not always dry and mild. Although again, if everything goes according to the textbook, then that would at least increase the chances for us being drier and mild. So we are watching it closely for sure. Um I've seen some La Nina's that have just kind of gone completely opposite, but for everyone that was at home saying, hey, where's La Nina? I thought it should have been here by now. It's not, we're gonna have to wait just *** few or more months before it arrives. We'll watch it closely for you.
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La Nina Update: It's taking a little longer to arrive

What it means for this winter

Chief Meteorologist Damon Lane shows the newest outlook for this winter based on La Nina and when we will begin to feel the impact of cooler ocean temperatures.It's been talked about for months now but so far it's been just that. All talk. We're talking about La Nina, the cooling of ocean water in the Pacific Ocean and the impact it plays on our weather. NOAA issued an update today about the very slow arrival of La Nina and the fact that it would not arrive this summer, like previously thought. It now appears that La Nina will not move in until this winter, which favors history for when impacts are most felt during La Nina. If La Nina goes according to textbook, then we see an increased chance for mild and dry conditions during the winter. But, it's important to note that we rarely see La Nina go according to textbook. Why? Because we are right on the border between warmer temperatures to the south and cooler temperatures to the north. A small shift in the storm track means cold fronts could be a tad colder. Yes, our weather is sometimes a game of inches, feet and miles and the difference between a cold rain and ice is a degree or two. The chance for La Nina to impact us this winter is now over 70%. So, stay tuned. We'll continue to update you along the way.

Chief Meteorologist Damon Lane shows the newest outlook for this winter based on La Nina and when we will begin to feel the impact of cooler ocean temperatures.

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It's been talked about for months now but so far it's been just that. All talk. We're talking about La Nina, the cooling of ocean water in the Pacific Ocean and the impact it plays on our weather.

NOAA issued an update today about the very slow arrival of La Nina and the fact that it would not arrive this summer, like previously thought.

It now appears that La Nina will not move in until this winter, which favors history for when impacts are most felt during La Nina.

If La Nina goes according to textbook, then we see an increased chance for mild and dry conditions during the winter. But, it's important to note that we rarely see La Nina go according to textbook.

Why? Because we are right on the border between warmer temperatures to the south and cooler temperatures to the north. A small shift in the storm track means cold fronts could be a tad colder. Yes, our weather is sometimes a game of inches, feet and miles and the difference between a cold rain and ice is a degree or two.

The chance for La Nina to impact us this winter is now over 70%.

So, stay tuned. We'll continue to update you along the way.