El Niño Brings Southern Winter Storms

Its been an odd – and eventful winter, especially in the Mid Atlantic and the Southeast. Storm after storm has bludgeoned the area with snow from Washington to Raleigh. Here in the Port City, ice on the roadways and cold heavy rains here in the port city have given folks grief this winter.

How strange has it been? Albany, New York has seen less snowfall this winter season than Washington, DC. So what’s the cause of all this? That old culprit El Niño is at it again.

This phenomenon is the warming of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of South America along the equator. This warmer than normal water has a long range of effects.

Back north in the United States, the jet stream – currents of air high in the atmosphere that steer our weather systems – is altered. In a typical winter, storms head into the Pacific Northwest along the northern branch of the jet stream and head across the country – spreading rain and snow into the Northeast.

In an El Niño year, the southern stream is more active, carrying strong storms into Southern California, and then across the country. They then pick up steam in the Gulf of Mexico and take a northern turn along the East Coast – slamming the southeast and Mid-Atlantic.

A typical storm track this year has a low pressure cell forming in the Southern Plains, spreading snow to the north. It then grabs more moisture from the south, adding fuel to the fire.

Since the storms are so far south – the snow north of the system hits cities such as Charlotte, Raleigh, and Richmond, Virginia. Fast-forward to today – and we’re seeing this same set up all over again.