April 5-7 Potential Nor'easter

The American GFS model is showing a strong storm in the Southeast US on April 5th, in an event that could pose the next threat for a Nor'easter.

The 9 day forecast image of precipitation and mean sea level pressure above has a strong storm system sitting on the Florida/Georgia border. This system is producing widespread and intense precipitation on all sides of the system. The chart indicates its mean sea level pressure is still above 1000 millibars, and while the Gulf of Mexico will be wide open to this system for widespread precipitation, I find it hard to believe that this precipitation will end up as heavy as it is being predicted. The long range American model always has troubles with strength and extent of precipitation in a storm system, and this one is no exception.

Now, the American model proceeds to take this storm out to sea after moving through the Southeast. However, I think there is potential for a Nor'easter to take place rather than the system just moving offshore. Shown above is a forecast chart for 500 millibar anomalies, where warm colors indicate high pressure and cool colors show low pressure. Our storm system is very visible along the Gulf Coast, and it looks like it should go up the coast. However, for some unknown reason, the American model refuses to do so. Considering high pressure over Greenland is strongest to the immediate west of the nation, this storm should have very strong backing to go up the East Coast, possibly producing a strong rain or snow event for many. But neither the American or European models allow this. Based on personal experience, we are almost guaranteed to see this storm's track change, possibly to a position more favorable for sliding up the Eastern Seaboard. There remains a lot to be discovered, but I do believe the potential is there for a Nor'easter.

Andrew

2013 Preliminary Atlantic Hurricane Outlook

Hello everyone, and welcome to The Weather Centre's Preliminary Atlantic Hurricane Outlook. In this outlook, because it is just the preliminary outlook, we will only examine my current analog package and a batch of ENSO model forecasts.

We start now with the analog package. I utilized the Pacific-Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) for this outlook's analog years. The PDO involves a positive and negative phase, where each phase depends on the prominent water temperature anomaly in the Northeast Pacific. A glance at the sea surface temperature chart for the northeast Pacific reveals a swath of above normal water temperatures in the offshore regions of the Gulf of Alaska, with below normal temperatures immediately offshore of North America and Alaska. This is the typical signature of the negative PDO. As for the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, we also see a positive and negative phase with this index. The positive AMO signifies warmer than normal water temperatures across the waters off Greenland and in the far north Atlantic Ocean. In the same sense, the negative AMO allows below normal water temperatures to encompass the North Atlantic waters.

After choosing specific years from these two indices, I combined my chosen years and used the ones that had both the PDO and AMO in phases similar to what we are currently anticipating. As a result, I came up with the years 1951, 1952, 1955, 1956, 1999, 2000, 2008, and 2011. All of these years had a clear negative Pacific-Decadal Oscillation and positive Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, which is what we are experiencing now and what we should experience moving forward into the spring and summer months.

Let's take a look at an archive of hurricane tracks during the aforementioned years to see if we can see a trend in my analog years that could assist in helping us find a common track for the upcoming season.

1951

In 1951, we saw a storm season that had many storms going out to sea rather than towards the US Mainland. At least 3 of those storms didn't even have a chance of making it to the United States. However, there were a few storms that did have a close brush with the Carolinas, as well as one landfall in Florida. A couple storms did make a threatening track towards the Gulf, but for one reason or another they did not hit the US. One storm (Hurricane Charlie) did hit Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, and Jamacia. All in all, the trend for this year was a slight Gulf threat with multiple close calls on the East Coast.

1952

1952 was not unlike 1951 in terms of where tropical systems went. While the Gulf of Mexico was considerably quieter with no systems actually in the heart of the Gulf, there was one landfallig system in the Southeast US, another landfall in Florida, and at least 3 storms that ended up recurving out to sea. The system that struck Florida, which formed on Groundhog Day (yes, in February), was never named. Hurricane Able was the system that hit the Southeast. The trend in this season was a threat to the East Coast and a rather quiet Gulf of Mexico.

1955

1955's Atlantic Hurricane season involved a pretty darn active season in terms of landfalling tropical systems. We saw multiple impacts on the Gulf Coast, especially in Louisiana and Mississippi. We also saw possibly more than 2 separate landfalls on the East Coast, all of which struck the Mid-Atlantic (one also sideswiped the Northeast). Tropical Storm Brenda was one of the systems that hit the Gulf Coast, and it was Hurricane Connie that slammed into the East Coast. Tropical Storm Five followed Brenda into the Gulf, while Hurricane Diane took a hint from Connie and sped towards the East Coast to make landfall. The clear trend here is an active landfalling season in the Gulf and East Coast.

1956

1956 continued the idea of storms running dangerously close to the US Mainland, even making landfall a couple points along the way. We saw a rather unusual season in that the majority of the storms took almost a due-north path out to sea. Usually, storms will form off the coast of Africa and curve west before doing a 180 and going out to sea. In this season, the storms just formed and made their intentions clear as day. Tropical Storm One, the first named system of the season, impacted the Gulf with a landfall. Both Hurricane Anna and Tropical Storm Dora hit Mexico, while Hurricane Flossy did a double-take by hitting the Yucatan Peninsula and the Gulf Coast. An unnamed subtropical cyclone hit Florida and skirted into the Mid-Atlantic. The trend in this season is clear: Tropical cyclone threats were highest in the East Coast and Gulf Coast.

1999

1999 was no different than previous years. We saw multiple tropical cyclones skirt immediately offshore of the Eastern Seaboard, and the Gulf of Mexico came under fire. We saw extreme southern Texas take a landfall from Hurricane Bret, while Florida was surrounded by several near-misses and at least two landfalling systems. It was Hurricane Dennis that took one of the most awkward tracks I have ever seen a tropical cyclone take. It began to curve out to sea after narrowly missing eastern Florida, but suddenly make a hard turn south, then a hard turn west before making landfall in the Mid-Atlantic as a weak tropical cyclone. The trend continues; East Coast and Gulf Coast were threatened in this season.

2000

The year 2000 was a bit different in that the number of threats to the East Coast was reduced. We saw more of a tendency for storms to curve out to sea earlier than storms in, say, 1999. The state of Florida did bear the brunt of at least one landfall (courtesy of Hurricane Gordon), while Alabama and Georgia were affected by a tropical cyclone known as Tropical Storm Helene. A tropical depression also made landfall in the western Gulf Coast, although it is not shown in the map above. The Gulf Coast definitely made headlines as the most affected area this season, with the East Coast in a not-so-close second.

2008

2008 brought an absolutely chaotic Atlantic hurricane season. We saw over half a dozen tropical cyclones hit the Gulf Coast, with one cyclone hitting the East Coast. Tropical Storm Cristobal affected the East Coast, while Hurricane Dolly and Tropical Storm Edouard hit the Gulf Coast. Tropical Storm Fay zig-zagged through Florida, while Hurricane Gustav ravaged the Gulf. Hurricane Hanna hit the Eastern Seaboard, and it was Hurricane Ike that dominated the Texas coast. The trend is probably the clearest we have seen in all of the analog years: The Gulf experienced the largest threat, with the East Coast also getting in the action.

2011

My last analog year, 2011, echoed previous analog years, but also raised the recurring theme of storms curving out to sea. We saw the heavy majority of tropical cyclones curving out to sea in 2011, with little to no damage coming between them. However, there were two Gulf Coast landfalls that were weak, as well as one Mid-Atlantic landfall. The final analog year continued the idea that the US mainland was threatened.

The next piece of evidence I want to show you is a chart of the latest observed sea surface temperature anomalies over the Atlantic Ocean. I outlined three regions of anomalies- an above-normal sea surface temperature (SST) area in and just south of Greenland, a below normal SST area to the east-northeast of the Mid-Atlantic coastline, and a large swath of above normal SST values from the coast of Africa and west into the Caribbean. This type of arrangement of SST anomalies is called an Atlantic Tripole. Years that had an Atlantic Tripole in place had a positive correlation with the monthly hurricane total from June to July and Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) values. This positive correlation means that, since the Atlantic Tripole is in its positive phase right now, we could reasonably expect more tropical cyclones than normal to form this season, and those cyclones could have more energy than normal, which would then raise the ACE index.

I am monitoring the El Nino-Southern Oscillation at this time, and current sea surface temperatures suggest we are in an El Nino. I don't really want to touch on that subject, as model forecasts have the Nino fighting an uphill battle as far as being able to survive during the hurricane season. Until the model forecasts clear up, I don't have enough confidence to lean one way or another on the presence or lack of an El Nino.

Based on my current analog package, combined with the Atlantic Tripole and a few other factors that greatly contribute to the Atlantic hurricane season, I believe that the threat to the Gulf Coast is 'High'. The 'High' threat means that the risk of a tropical cyclone of ANY strength hitting the Gulf Coast is pretty significant. I cannot go in-depth into strength of the cyclone until my official outlook (which will be out in Late April or Early May), but I cannot rule out the potential of a hurricane hitting the Gulf. As for the threat to the East Coast, I have classified the threat as 'Medium-High', meaning that there is a pretty decent chance of a tropical cyclone of any strength affecting the East Coast. Based on the analog package, the threat of a tropical system hitting that region is pretty solid.

If you have any general questions (no specific timing, strength or location questions, please), don't hesitate to ask. I will try my best to get back to you ASAP.

Andrew

Late April Snow Potential Means Winter Not Done Yet

WARNING: The chances of this actually happening are essentially zero. DO NOT take this as an actual forecast. Take it as the smallest grain of salt known to man.

The long range CFS model is projecting an increase in snow depth across the Ohio Valley and Northeast in 2 of the 4 CFS ensemble forecast members. All of the ensemble members have an increase in snow depth across a portion of the northern US. While usually the agreement of all of the ensemble members of snow in some portion of the North US is encouraging to the validity of the forecast, I have a hard time believing that there will be a snow event in late April.

For one, the increased intensity of the sun greatly discourages snowfall potential. For another, the Northern Hemisphere's climate is naturally changing over to a springtime ''feeling'', with warmer temperatures covering a greater portion of the nature, and an increasing warm sector to the east of storm systems. However, with continuing chances for an unusually weak polar vortex, cold air will be relatively easier to come by, especially in the Northeast. To up the ante, an unusually active Pacific jet stream could draw in more cold air to the south, increasing chances for snow.

Again, this is almost certainly not going to verify, but the fact that the chance is even being suggested is a testament that this winter is unlikely to go quietly.

Andrew

Sunspots Well Below Forecasted Numbers

It has come to my attention that the number of sunspots is well below forecasted values for this time of year. Shown above is a graphic from NASA, showing two different sunspot forecasts. If we use the small ticks on the (think back to middle school math here) y-axis, we find the 2010 mark predicts up to ~175 sunspots at this time. It is worth noting that these forecasts appeared on an article published in 2006. Regardless, both forecasts were showing very high numbers for the decade of 2010-2020.

Now shown above is an image of the last four solar cycles- Cycles 21, 22 and 23 are shown in blue, black and red respectively, while the in-progress Cycle 24 is shown in purple. If we look at the most recent observation of the sunspot number, we find that the number of sunspots currently stands at roughly 60- and we're at the height of the sunspot cycle! This means that the forecasts above were off by a minimum of 100 sunspots- a huge difference that shows just how weak the sun is, and raises questions about what its effects could be in the near future.

Short term, nothing major looks to be happening. Incredibly small temperature decreases in comparison to previous years are possible, and a decline in the number of solar flares and coronal mass ejections is probable. Long term, things get more interesting. If the sun does what I expect it to do, we are likely to see a multi-decade decline in temperatures across the world. We must remember that the sun has been recognized as the main driver of climate change, so the decrease in the number of sunspots (and thus the strength of the sun) should allow for at least a slight cooling trend in the world. I'm not willing to discuss global warming in this post, this is just pointing out how the forecasts for sunspots are off compared to what is being observed.

Andrew

30-Day Sunspot Cycle in Turmoil

The 30 Day sunspot cycle that can help determine a variety of mesoscale factors has been sent into turmoil over the past month.

In the attached image, you can see how the sunspot cycle was fairly regular over the last several months. However, as of late, the cycle has essentially shut down and has been in the minimum of the cycle for the past month or more. The unusual quietness of the sun could help explain why the cold seems more prolonged and spread out. It also may assist in showing why there has not been persistent low pressure in the West US, as the 30 day sunspot cycle and Pacific-North American index have a negative correlation with one another.

Potential implications in the near future include continued instances of slightly prolonged and slightly stronger cold weather across the nation than what it would be if the cycle was at its regular. Other impacts include less pressure on the Central and East US to produce dominant high pressure. Rather, they would be more inclined to keep low pressure/general cool weather in the aforementioned areas.

If the cycle does not get out of its unusual antics in the next month or two, we could be looking at some solid impacts on spring, including the potential for increased instances of cold weather and slightly increased stormy patterns.

Andrew