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Happy Groundhog Day

At 7:28a this morning, this is what Phil the Groundhog had to say from his burrow at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania: [1]

El Nino has caused high winds, heavy snow, ice and freezing temperatures in the west.
Here in the East with much mild winter weather we have been blessed.

Global warming has caused a great debate.
This mild winter makes it seem just great.

On this Groundhog Day we think of one thing.
Will we have winter or will we have spring?

On Gobbler’s Knob I see no shadow today.
I predict that early spring is on the way.

Thanks Phil! That’s wonderful news given that tomorrow’s low temperature is going be to -11 degrees F (-24 C) here in my neck of woods in Wisconsin.

With his knowledge of global warming and El Nino, Phil is obviously smarter than the average groundhog (decent poet as well) but what do other meteorologists have to say about winter in the United States?

As Phil mentioned, El Nino has been affecting weather worldwide. Temperature readings in the Pacific Ocean have slightly decreased from above average levels which means El Nino is weakening but a warmer ocean will have some impact on the climate.

Here are the highlights from the February-March-April outlook report from the NOAA Climate Prediction Center:

Temperature: [2]
1. Good chance for warmer than normal temperatures for the northern two-third of the country including Alaska
2. Normal temperatures for Southeastern United States from Texas to the South Atlantic Coast
3. Equal chances for above, below, normal temperatures elsewhere

Precipitation: [2]
1. Below average for Northern Rocky Mountains, Ohio & Tennessee River Valleys, and Western Great Lakes region.
2. Above average for southern third due to El Nino. To be more specific, Southern California, Southwest states, Texas, Southern Plains states, Gulf Coast, Florida, coastal plains of Georgia and Carolinas.
3. Equal chances for above, below, normal precipitation levels elsewhere

Predictions for Hawaii: [3]
Big surprise for you….tropical paradise every single day! Actually, long-term forecasts predict below average temperature and precipitation for the next three months.