#la-nina

#la-nina

The Central and Southern Great Basin, which includes the Sierra Nevada's eastern slopes, carries the highest probability of below-normal precipitation in the entire country, exceeding 60%. Combined with above-normal temperatures forecast across California and the broader Southwest, the Sierra is staring down a tough April.

Federal climate forecasters say the atmosphere is shifting into a more typical late-season La Niña setup, with the main storm track sliding north as milder air flows in from the Pacific. That favors warmer-than-normal conditions across most of the Rockies, Plains, Midwest, and East, with the strongest signal for warmth centered on the south-central Plains and lower Mississippi Valley. Colder-than-normal temperatures are most likely in Alaska and may clip parts of the northern High Plains and Pacific Northwest.

The remaining question, though, was where all this methane was coming from in the first place. Throughout the pandemic, there was speculation that the surge might be caused by super-emitter events in the oil and gas sector, or perhaps a lack of maintenance on leaky infrastructure during lockdowns. But the new research suggests that the source of these emissions was not what many expected. The microbial surge

The past 11 years are now the warmest 11 years in the 176-year history of temperature records. What is especially concerning about 2025 is that it occurred during La Niña, a natural Pacific cooling pattern that usually brings lower temperatures. This time, it did not help. Climate scientist James Hansen reports that global warming is now speeding up by 0.31°C per decade, and he predicts we will pass the +1.7°C mark by 2027.

The latest trend was a series of atmospheric rivers hitting the Pacific Northwest, at the same time that a series of clipper systems were hitting the Great Lakes and Northern Plains. This has resulted in wet, but mild, weather in the Cascades and Northern Rockies, and cold, snowy weather across the Upper Midwest. At the same time, Utah, Colorado, and most of Wyoming have been dry and much warmer than normal.

It is still true that La Niña tends to correlate with dry water years, which the National Weather Service defines as from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. During La Niña, the sea surface temperatures of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean cool. And the jet stream - the west-to-east band of wind in the atmosphere - shifts northward. This typically pushes winter storms toward the Pacific Northwest and Canada, while leaving swaths of California drier than average, especially in the south.

General Pattern: La Niña conditions are expected to persist through winter, favoring a split temperature pattern across the US. Colder Areas: Below-normal temperatures are favored from the Upper Mississippi Valley, Northern and Central Great Plains west to the Northern Rockies and parts of the Pacific Northwest. Early December is likely to be colder-than-normal in the Midwest and northern states due to atmospheric patterns including a negative Arctic Oscillation and a modulating Madden-Julian Oscillation.

Storm causes havoc as it hits centre of the country, displacing hundreds of thousands. Residents have sought refuge on rooftops, and cars have floated through flooded streets as Typhoon Kalmaegi has battered the central Philippines, killing at least two people. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced by the powerful storm, which made landfall shortly before midnight on Monday. The 20th tropical cyclone to batter the Philippines this year was moving westwards at 25km/h (16mph) on Tuesday

After months of slight temperature shifts in the Pacific Ocean, La Niña has officially returned - the climate pattern that typically drives drought in Southern California. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday that La Niña conditions had arrived, a possibly foreboding sign for the Southland. The southern half of the Golden State still has not bounced back from the last year of below-average rainfall, and the reemergence of the ocean phenomenon could mean more drought, with another drier-than-average winter.

Forecasters at the US Climate Prediction Center have issued a La Nina watch, indicating the Pacific Ocean surface will likely cool, heightening Atlantic storm risks.