What is the 'Blob' in the Pacific Ocean?
By: Christina Loren
Saturday, September 05, 2015
You may have recently read snippets online or heard brief mentions on television of the warm 'blob' in the Pacific Ocean. The 'blob' refers to an unusually warm area of water in the Pacific that spans from Baja Mexico all the way up the west coast of North America, extending into the Gulf of Alaska. Ocean temperatures are running around 3- 4.5º F warmer than average in this sprawling area and the abnormality is linked to unusual weather conditions occurring on the west coast. You may recall that last winter we received a fair amount of rainfall in the Bay Area, but Tahoe saw very little snow. This occurred because most of the weather systems that moved over Northern California had ample moisture, but were too warm to produce heavy snowfall. This phenomenon can likely be attributed, at least in part, to the 'blob' in the Pacific Ocean.
In addition to atypical weather patterns, the 'blob' is also producing difficulties for marine life since this area of warmer than average water is lacking critical nutrients. Typically this area is known for "coastal upwelling" which helps to churn up phytoplankton necessary for the food chain of marine mammals from the depths of the ocean. Normal upwelling is not taking place in this area of warmer, stagnant water and it is in turn nutrient poor. With the combination of a developing El Niño and the 'blob' it looks like the 2015-2016 rainy season could be one for the record books, particularly in Southern California.
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| Areas of red indicate the 'blob' of warmer than average water in the Pacific Ocean that was identified in 2013. It extends from Alaska to Mexico and will likely persist through 2015. |
Labels: Blob, California, Christina Loren, El Nino, ENSO, Forecast, Pacific Ocean, Rain, Snow, Tahoe, Weather
posted by Unknown @ 2:05 PM,
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What is El Niño?
By: Christina Loren
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
An interesting meteorological phenomenon that dictates weather conditions for a given area is the influence of coastal winds on ocean currents. In the open ocean surface currents are directly impacted by global wind patterns. Simply stated, El Niño describes a change in trade wind patterns leading to unusually warm ocean currents in the Pacific Ocean. This alteration in surface ocean temperature has a tendency to create extreme weather changes, specifically between October through March, with peak conditions from December through February. Some of the impacts typically associated with El Niño are a lack of precipitation for parts of Indonesia and Australia and the development of strong storms packed with ample moisture that tend to aim at California and areas in the southwestern United States. Although these effects are characteristic of a strong El Niño pattern, there is no guarantee that this year's event will produce the flooding rain we saw in 1997-1998 in California. In the same way that no two storms are the same, no two El Niños are the same either. There are other atmospheric variables at play that will likely influence how this year's rain season will pan out. Nonetheless, I would be willing to bet that El Niño will at the very least provide the state of California with average rainfall for the 2015-2016 rainy season.
Labels: Christina Loren, christinaloren, Currents, Drought, El Nino, El Niño, Flash Flood, Flooding, Heavy Rain, Meteorology, Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Weather
posted by Unknown @ 12:27 PM,
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Incredibly Strong El Nino Developing
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Although the impact is hard to forecast at this point, what looks to be the strongest El Nino in history is developing in the central to eastern Pacific. The hope is that above average rainfall prompted by El Nino will assist the drought situation in California but right now it is difficult to assess what the potential impact will be with certainty.
It's critical El Niño hits Northern California. Why experts are growing optimistic.
Labels: California, Christina Loren, El Nino, ENSO, Pacific Ocean
posted by Unknown @ 3:49 AM,
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