Mixed Bag - July California Climate Summary

Mixed Bag - July California Climate Summary

 

July 2015 surely defined a mixed climatological bag.  Average maximum temperatures ranged from 3.6 degrees above normal (Eureka) to 2.0 below normal at San Jose, while precipitation varied from zero (most places) to 5700% of normal at San Diego!

Even across relatively short distances there were large variations in the average maxima, with San Francisco's anomaly +2.6 and San Jose -2.0, occurring across just 40 miles.  Los Angeles and San Diego were likewise juxtaposed with -1.4 and +2.3 respectively.  Also interesting were the average minima for the month with everyone being above normal, in a range from +5.2 (Redding) to +1.7 (Fresno).

The huge variations in the rainfall were due to the influx of subtropical moisture, including the remnants of Hurricane Dolores, that produced some locally rain the southern half of the state; and also the very low normals for the month of July.

See http://ggweather.com/calif/jul2015.htm 

Jan Null, CCM
Golen Gate Weather Services

 

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El Niño Category Changes - Upon Further Review

El Niño Category Changes - Upon Further Review

 

El Niño Category Changes  - Upon Further Review

Just like a sporting event where they go to instant replay to possibly overturn a decision, the same is true with the classification of El Niño's and La Niña's.  This has happened with the dataset used to calculate the Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) and consequently the "category" of nearly a dozen El Niño and La Niña events has changed.  This was the result of the Extended Reconstructed Sea Surface Temperature (ERSST) dataset being upgraded to ERSSTv4 from ERSSTv3.  (See details and previous ONI dataset

The ONI is a retrospective tool and is used to classify past events, and sometimes the most recent month or two values may shift slightly.  It is also not the best indicator in real-time events because it is a 3-month average and may not represent recent dynamic changes very well.  For a year to be classified historically as a warm (El Niño) or cool (La El Niña) event there must be at least 5 consecutive over-lapping 3-month periods above/below the +0.5 degrees C criteria.

This updated ONI data and list of events is annotated with an asterisk to show the ones that changed a category.  In total 23% of the 3-month periods (from 1950 to present) are cooler by 0.1 deg C, 4% cooler by 0.2 deg C, 1% cooler by 0.3 deg C, 20% warmer by 0.1 deg C, 5% warmer by 0.2 deg C and 47% remaining unchanged. This resulted in 9 events decreasing a category while 2 bumped up a category.

Of most recent interest is that last winter (2014-15) is no longer historically counted as an El Niño year because JFM was adjusted to 0.4 deg C, breaking the string of 5 consecutive periods at or above the 0,5 deg C criteria for a weak El Niño.

Summary of event changes:
2014-15  - no longer El Niño
2008-09  - no longer La Niña
2005-06  - no longer La Niña
1999-00 - from strong to moderate El Niño
1994-95 - from moderate to weak El Niño
1987-88 - from strong to moderate El Niño
1979-80  - increased to weak El Niño 
1968-69 - from moderate to weak El Niño
1967-68 - increased to weak La Niña
1956-57 - no longer La Niña
1951-52 - from moderate to weak El Niño 

There are now a total of 23 El Niño events since 1950; with 12 being "weak", 6 being "moderate", 3 "strong" and 2 "very strong".  Of the cool La Niña events, there is a total of 20; with 11 in the "weak" category, 5 "moderate" and 4 "strong".

These changes necessitated a reworking of several analyses of El Niño and precipitation.  These include El Niño / La Niña Winter Historic Precipitation & Temperatures  and Climatology of El Niño Events and California Precipitation.

Jan Null, CCM
Golden Gate Weather Services

 

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El Niño Update

El Niño Update

 

The latest El Niño "plume forecast" for was released yesterday and it showed an even stronger event  for the upcoming winter and fall.  The mean forecast value of the 16 dynamic models peak at a "very strong" ONI value of 2.2 for the Oct-Nov-Dec (OND) period and then cools to 1.9 in DJF.


The average of the dynamic models has continued to get stronger with each successive model run.

Comparing the very strong El Niño event of 1997-98 with 2015 observed so far and the forecast.

These are the SST anomalies for July 15, 1997 and July 15, 2015.  The two big differences are the strength of the 1997 equatorial signal (stronger) and then the 2015 "warm blob" in the Gulf of Alaska being warmer the the positive anomaly of 1997.


The weekly SST values so far in 2015 compared to 1997, plus the forecast for the remainder of the year.


VERY IMPORTANT CAVEAT: All of the above only speaks to the SST anomalies and is NOT a precipitation forecast. As previously noted, there is large variance in the amount of California rainfall (and other impacts) even within a given ONI forecast category (i..e, weak, moderate, strong, very strong).  See the following:  http://ggweather.com/enso/ca_enso.htmhttp://ggweather.com/enso/enso_myths.htmhttp://ggweather.com/enso/calif_flood.htm and http://ggweather.com/enso.htm .

Jan Null, CCM
Golden Gate Weather Services
http://ggweather.com

 

 

 

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Warm California Coastal Waters Not Necessarily El Niño Related

Warm California Coastal Waters Not Necessarily El Niño Related

 

In recent days there have been numerous reports of warmer than normal water along the California coast as well as an abundance of sharks, red crabs and dead marine life washing ashore. And in too many reports there has been at least an implied linkage to El Niño.  But the warmer than normal water associated with El Niño occurs in the tropical Pacific, about 2500 miles southwest of California.  Historically, the waters along the northern and central California coast have been above normal during only about half (55%) of the El Niño events since 1950, and 64% of the times in the Southern California coastal waters. (See #7 at http://ggweather.com/enso/enso_myths.htm )

It should also be noted that California coast waters were also well above normal last summer, long before the formation of the current El Niño. This warming is more likely associated with the "warm blob" in the northeast Pacific, which is likely a byproduct of the persistent ridging off the west coast that has been the prime factor in the ongoing drought.

To view historic Sea Surface Temperature (SST) anomalies worldwide see http://ggweather.com/sst.htm. The clickable map is for the north Pacific but there is data for the entire globe via a pulldown menu. The data can also be displayed as a time series.  Thanks to Scott Archer of IPS Meteostar for his programming wizardry in helping make this data so easily accessible.


Jan Null, CCM
Golden Gate Weather Services

 

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2014-15 Rainfall Season in review

2014-15 Rainfall Season in review

Today is the last day of the California rainfall season (July 1 to June 30) and as expected it was another dry year.  Most of northern California was between about 70% and 80% of normal, with central California having a wider range between 55% and 80%, and southern California mostly between 50% and 60%.  There were a few outliers in each category, primarily boosted by singular convective events.  

The important Sierra Nevada precipitation indices were equally low with 71% in the northern Sierra Nevada and less than 45% of normal in central and southern Sierra.  See http://ggweather.com/ca2014rain.htm





Jan Null, CCM
Golden Gate Weather Services

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California's 4-year Rainfall Deficit

California's 4-year Rainfall Deficit

These tables and chart show the total deficit in California rainfall since the 2011-2012 season July 1 to June 30) in both inches and percent of normal.

For example, San Francisco is 31.63 inches behind their normal four-year total.  Consequently, to make up all of the deficit, the rainfall that San Francisco would need this coming season would be 55.28" (i.e., 31.63" + 23.65") or 234% of normal. [The all time record for San Francisco is 49.27"!!]

It should be noted that making up the rainfall deficit is very different than the requirements to "end the drought" as the components of a drought are dependent upon a myriad of variables like the type of user, population, existing supplies etc.

Also online at http://ggweather.com/4-year_deficit.htm 




Jan Null, CCM
Golden Gate Weather Services
 

 

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Models Even Stronger with Upcoming El Nino

Models Even Stronger with Upcoming El Nino

 

The just released IRI/CPC mid-June ENSO Prediction Plume forecasts an even from stronger El Niño event than the previous two months.  And this forecast is important in that it is past the Spring Predictability Barrier. Here is a comparison of the last three dynamic model plume forecasts.

 

The current mean of the 17 dynamic forecast models is 1.8 in the October-November-December period, but in looking at the individual members that make up the mean, there are seven of the models that exceed 2.0, including the Japanese model (2.7), NASA (2.5) and both NOAA and ECMWF at 2.4. 



And now the usual caveat that El Niño does NOT guarantee any particular meteorological outcome, for example above normal rainfall in California.  However, the stronger the El Niño event (i.e. ONI) the higher the probability of above normal rain in California and other impacts in the United States and other parts of the world.  See El Niño / La Niña Winter Historic Precipitation & Temperatures and Climatology of El Niño Events and California Precipitation.


Jan Null, CCM
Golden Gate Weather Services
http://ggweather.com 

 

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One Hot Day in NOT a Heat Wave!

One Hot Day in NOT a Heat Wave!

 

I have searched high and low but I can't find anything that defines a single hot day as a "Heatwave".  Yet headlines and breathless newscasters have insisted on calling this past Monday and now the warm-up expected tomorrow "heatwaves".

Climatologically, this type of weather is to be expected.  For example, Livermore averages two 100-degree maximum days in June while San Jose averages four 90-degree days.  It is occasions when there are multiple consecutive days that are a these levels (and minimums remain abnormally high overnight) that really constitute a "heatwave"   

Here are a couple definitions of heatwave:
- World Meteorological Organization:  "...when the daily maximum temperature of more than five consecutive days exceeds the average maximum temperature by 5 °C..."

- National Weather Service Glossary:  A period of abnormally and uncomfortably hot and unusually humid weather. Typically a heat wave lasts two or more days.
 
   

That being said, it is always advisable for persons to take precautions to protect themselves and others when there is abnormally hot weather, especially early in the year when most are not acclimated.

Jan Null, CCM
Golden Gate Weather Services

 

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Cool May Gray

Coastal areas of California had a cool gray May while statewide rainfall for the month ranged from to zero to over 12 times normal.

 

A saggy trough of low pressure aloft made the marine layer a nearly permanent fixture for the month. Consequently cities near the coast were mostly 2 to nearly 6 degrees below normal, though San Diego managed to be just 0.6 below normal.  Inland it was also cooler than normal in most areas, though Redding in the northern Sacramento Valley was three degrees above normal while Sacramento, only  150 miles to the south, felt the persistent marine layer and was 3.2 degrees below normal.

 

In San Jose, after an 84 degree max on May 1st not a single day exceeded normal. For the month San Jose's average May 2015 maxima of 68.6 degrees was 5.7 cooler than its normal of 74.3 degrees, the coolest May since 67.97 degrees in 1977. (Their record coolest May is 66.81 inches in 1915.) It was also the first month below normal in San Jose since last September.

 

San Francisco was similarly cool, with only May 1st topping 64 degrees all month. And it was the 1st time since September 2013 that the average monthly maxima was below normal!

 

The persistent trough also produced several significant rain events on the South Coast, with San Diego's 2.39" for the month was their wettest May since 2.54 in 1921, and 1292% of normal. Elsewhere rainfall was hit or miss and highly variable with generally drier amounts north.

 

See http://ggweather.com/calif/may2015.htm 

 

 

Jan Null, CCM

Golden Gate Weather Services

http://ggweather.com

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Updated El Niño Climatologies and Forecasts

Updated El Niño Climatologies

With many of the May versions of the SST ONI forecasts beginning to show El Niño strengthening well into the strong category (see below) I have updated a number of El Niño climatologies to add a "very strong" category. Each of the previous categories (Weak, Moderate, Strong) spanned a half degree anomaly on the ONI and it seemed logical to add a category for the next step of greater than or equal to an ONI of +2.0.  See El Niño and La Niña Years and Intensities (ONI).

This moved two years (1982-83 and 1997-98) from the strong category to "very strong" and an examination of these two years understandably shows the most definitive signature for rainfall for California.  [The 1972-73 season fell just shy of the meeting the "very strong" criteria, but certainly exhibited a similar very wet California outcome.] See El Niño and La Niña Winter Historic Precipitation and Temperatures and Climatology of El Niño Events and California Precipitation.

Important Caveat:  These are climatologies of past events and are made up of a broad range of events from a small sample that are averaged together.  Consequently, like all averages, this type of data should not be used as a forecast! Or as your stock broker says "Past performance is no guarantee of future result." 

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Updated El Niño Forecasts

The new mid-May plume of forecasts come out from IRI/CPC on Thursday (5/21) but many of the individual elements are already available and showing significant warming in future months across the eastern equatorial Pacific.
NOAA Ensemble Mean 
ECMWF Nino Plumes
Australian BOM Nino3.4 Outlook 


Jan Null, CCM
Golden Gate Weather Services
http://ggweather.com

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