A dip in the jet stream
Jet streams are referred to as fast flowing narrow bands of meandering currents of air and have a lot to do with what kind of weather will visit our area.聽 It looks like the air flow next week will favor a jet stream that will pick up some cold air in the Arctic and transport it down over much of the country including Southwestern Pennsylvania.聽 It will not be a visit from the Polar Vortex like we had earlier this winter, but it will be cold enough to keep daytime high temperatures in the 20s and 30s and morning lows in the teens.聽 Average temperatures for next week are 48 degrees for the high and 26 degrees for the low.
Last week, the Climate Prediction Center continued their advisory for the weak El Nino weather pattern to persist through the spring months. Much of this winter, the weak weather pattern has persisted and it has been responsible for a lot of rain through the Southeast and a lot of snow in the Northern Plains, Mid-West and the Western States.
聽The snow is turning out to be good news for the West as the heavy snows will insure an adequate supply of water for the spring and summer. Lake Tahoe has recorded 462 inches of snow, nearly 38 feet. The Arizona Snowbowl near Flagstaff had 7 feet of snow just last week and are enjoying their most snow in over a decade. Ski resorts in California, Arizona and Nevada are enjoying increased business and snow even fell on the Strip in Las Vegas last week. Of course, some areas of the West have simply had too much snow and rain all at once and this has brought flooding and mudslides.
Farmers who use the federally controlled water supply for their crops have already been notified that initial allocations of water for their use will be higher this year.聽 Another benefit of the increased snowpack will be an easing of water shortages and danger of fires when the hot dry summer weather returns this summer.聽
For us back East, the increased water for agricultural purposes should help continue an adequate supply of our favorite fruits and vegetables until our local supply arrives in late spring and summer.
Weak El Nino weather patterns produce a variety of weather in Southwestern Pennsylvania.聽 We did have our Polar Vortex visit and expect cold weather this coming week, but overall, we have had a variety of weather with no one pattern getting the upper hand.聽 We missed out on a lot of the heavy snows and the rains have been much heavier in the Southeast.
The chilly air appears like it will cover much of the United States next week from Maine to Texas.聽 Looking out a little further the spring months of March, April and May are forecast to be just a bit above normal in the temperature department and near normal for precipitation.聽 With the past year and a half being so wet this could be welcome news.