La Nina threatens wet spring here, active Atlantic hurricane season
La Nina is on its way in the equatorial Pacific, a development which increases the odds of a wetter than normal spring here and boosts the potential for an active Atlantic hurricane season.
Official confirmation of the transition to La Nina was issued by the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Tuesday. Computer climate models have predicted a rapid decline in Pacific ocean temperatures west of South America for some time. Predictions of that cooling have become even more emphatic in recent weeks signaling La Nina’s return. It was just months ago warmer than normal waters and weaker than usual easterly trade winds indicated the presence of an El Nino, which may well have contributed to our mid-winter warmth. Only one in 5 El Ninos dissipate as fast as this year’s.
A slight majority of the 23 La Ninas observed since 1946 have been accompanied by wetter than normal springs in Chicago.
--By Tom Skilling, WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist