La Niña Returns – What it means for the North Sound
The summer season has officially ended. In the past few weeks, the weather has been more autumn-like, letting us know that winter is just around the corner.
National Preparedness Month is in September, which makes it the perfect time to prepare ahead for what is likely to happen in the near future. The weather in North Sound is often marked by heavy rainfall, flooding, and landslides.
There may also be strong damaging windstorms, lowland snow, and ice. The main reason to prepare ahead of time is to avoid adverse weather.
Last week, the latest seasonal weather outlook showed that La Nia would continue this winter. A La Nia is a contrary phenomena to El Nio – when the tropical waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean are cooler than average. The El Nio phenomenon is characterized by warmer than usual tropical waters, as was the case this winter.
El Niño and La Niña Explained With Video
The North Pacific storm track is profoundly affected by La Nia and El Nio. In La Nia, storms travel onshore more into Washington and Oregon rather than California and beyond in El Nio.
The winter seasons of Western Washington tend to be warmer than average because of El Nio, with heavier precipitation and weaker snowpacks in the mountains. This winter was no different.
During La Nia winters, the climate is vastly different. The climate is typically cooler and wetter than average, which results in a healthy snowpack in the mountains.
There were three consecutive La Nia winters earlier this decade – 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24. These winters were marked by an above-average mountain snowpack in the mountains and snowfall events in the North Sound.
The latest Seasonal Weather Forecast
La Nia continues to develop in the current seasonal weather outlook. Winter temperatures are expected to be cooler-than-average and precipitation will be above-normal for December through February.
As a result, snow enthusiasts, water managers, and power generation authorities can look forward to a healthy mountain snowpack next spring.
Temperatures are not expected to trend upward in October or November following a wetter-than-average fall.
La Nia And its Impacts
As a result of comparing El Nio, ‘Neutral’ (around average temperatures around the tropical Eastern Pacific Sea surface), and La Nia winters, La Nia is ranked number one in terms of producing lowland snow. La Nia winters earlier in this decade resulted in widespread lowland snow across Western Washington.
Snowfall usually begins in mid-November and lasts until March in lowlands. As a result of snow, not only does transportation deteriorate, but also power outages are common. Winters during La Nia have typically been the snowiest during Western Washington.
As the weather turns colder, windstorms, flooding, and landslides are all likely to damage the area.
Windstorm season generally begins in October. During the Columbus Day Storm of 1962, the United States experienced one of its strongest non-tropical winds. A windstorm that blew down thousands of trees in Western Washington, including the North Sound, damaged homes and utilities, caused long-term power outages, and killed 46 people.
It is common for this region to experience damaging windstorms every 10 years. There are many strong windstorms, but none are as powerful as the Columbus Day Storm. In December 2006, there was a significant windstorm here on Hanukah Eve.
There has been a long wait for our region. What if another storm like Columbus Day struck again? Could you live without electricity for a long period of time?
Flood season usually begins in late October and lasts until March. In Washington, floods are the No. 1 presidentially declared natural disaster. In light of warmer global temperatures, storms carrying a higher amount of moisture can produce larger rain amounts in the same time period.
There is a good chance these wet storms will dump more rain and cause more severe flooding than previously experienced. Across the country and around the world, this issue has been prevalent in recent years.
Are you prepared to deal with these hazards or perhaps even an earthquake? It is time to prepare now. Go to ready.gov and the CDC website for useful tips and checklists for your home, car, pets, and more.
The NOAA Weather Radio all-hazards is one of the most important items in your home, business, school, healthcare facility or place of worship. Being weather aware is the key to being weather prepared.
This National Preparedness Month, prepare yourself, your family, and your business so you’re better prepared for the weather this fall and winter.