Here comes the winter forecast ...
We interrupt this torrid summer for a winter forecast.
Here comes the winter forecast ...
We may be in the heat of the dog days of a punishing summer, but Accu-Weather Inc. has just released a winter outlook.
The private giant of State College is saying that while it isn't quite sure precisely what the winter will bring to Philadelphia, it is certain that it won't be a repeat of the record snowy winter of 2009-10.
Joe Bastardi, Accu-Weather's long-range forecaster expects La Nina, a mass cooling of the tropical Pacific, to dominate the winter. That would be a reversal from the El Nino warming dominance of last winter.
Bastardi says he's banking on the big-snow region shifting westward, targeting areas from Cleveland to the Pacific Northwest.
The South should have a gentle winter, he says, and the Florida snowbirds will be perching in ideal conditions.
Philadelphia and the rest of the Northeast will be in a "battle zone," with wildly variable conditions probably resulting in near-normal snowfall. In Philly, that's about 20 inches, compared with last winter's 78.7.
The key is the future of the burgeoning La Nina. In its weekly outlook yesterday, the government's Climate Prediction Center said sea-surface temperatures in the indicator region of the Pacific were running 2 degrees below normal.
The goverment plans to release another update on Thursday.
Comment removed.
With normal snowfall, it will be difficult for the global warming zealots to chime in.— Sophilly- The Tonner's going to stock up on Genny Cream Ale just in case the forecast is wrong.
- Let me understand, no one can correctly forcast the weather a day in advance on a regular basis, and we're supposed to believe they can predict the winter weather in August? I'll believe it when I see it.— mjc1
- what a waste of space— boneymarone
- I'm surprised it took almost an hour before the global warming discussion started. Before this gets ugly, can we agree that a snapshot in time (like one season) does not a trend make? That goes for last winter, and for next winter, should it be normal as predicted? And so ends my attempt at bringing civil discourse to this forum. Let that ignorance commence!
- that sucks. more snow!— bluehaha
I would prefer to see another winter like last winter: mild all winter long, then, BAM, 5 feet of snow in February.- gobacktotheburbs, it's 9 minutes since your post and ignorance has not reared it's ugly head. But it will happen.— Mark1
I don't know about you, but I'm heading out to buy milk and bread right now!- Hope he's right---my dogs hated it.— crystalrainbowspirit1
- Bread shelves are empty at the local Acme. Hoping to find milk at the corner store.— rmpchf
- An indication of global warming would be the melting ice caps and crumbling glaciers. The argument is no longer whether it is happening of not it is if it is caused by manmade emmisions or not. Catch up, read somehting other that philly dot com— LivinLovinLife
- What does "Hurricane Schwartz" say? One more winter like last year and I'm moving South -- way south!
- Let us enjoy before the snowballs fly.— Darren Wall
Tony Wood has been writing about the atmosphere for The Inquirer for 26 years. E-mail Tony here. And read all his columns here.
