What La Niña means for temps, potential snowfall in Columbus
Have you felt that nip in the air? Did you break down and turn on your furnace?
Winter is on its way.
If you’ve been wondering what the winter might look like, meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Wilmington have you covered. They’ve already begun predicting Ohio’s winter weather.
Here’s what may be in store for Ohio this winter.
How La Niña could impact Ohio’s winter weather
A weak La Niña climate pattern will likely lead to above average temperatures in Ohio through December, January and February, NWS meteorologist Brandon Peloquin said at the 2024 Franklin County Snow Emergency Briefing on Nov. 14.
La Niña will also likely cause slightly below average snowfall due to an increased prevalence of rain, Peloquin said. Central Ohio normally receives 20 to 30 inches of snow during winter.
However, these predictions aren’t immovable.
“All it takes is one storm to kind of throw that seasonal forecast out the window,” Peloquin said.
Ohio’s winter weather will remain as variable as ever, meaning there will be warm spells with a potential for rain and storms, and cold snaps with snow and ice, Peloquin said.
Also, starting this year, NWS Wilmington’s wind chill advisories will be renamed to cold weather advisories to focus on how cold it is regardless of the wind, Peloquin added.
What is La Niña?
This diagram shows how La Niña impacts the U.S. and the rest of North America.
La Niña is a recurring climate pattern that occurs when trade winds that push warm water west from South America toward Asia are stronger than usual. Colder water rises to the surface to replenish the warm water pushed off to Asia, which in turn affects weather patterns in the U.S.
A cooler Pacific Ocean causes the Pacific jet stream, a fast-moving current of air that circles the globe, to move north, leading to colder and wetter conditions in northern states and warmer and drier conditions in the southern U.S., according to the National Weather Service.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio winter weather forecast. Will La Niña mean more or less snow?
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