http://www.theprovince.com/technology/3643390.bin
Get ready for a wet, wild winter.
We’re headed into a La Niña year the likes of which haven’t been seen since 1955, according to Washington state climatologist Nick Bond.
“It’s shaping up to be a lively one,” Bond said Thursday, before adding a typical forecaster’s warning.
“There’s really no guarantees. If you think of it like a card game with cold weather as the aces, this year there’s a few more aces in the deck.”
La Niñas occur when the ocean near the equator is cooler than usual.
Bond said temperatures for this time of year are the
coldest since 1955, and the pattern could continue as we head into winter. Ocean temperatures affect air circulation, and cool air can lead to more rain and snow and colder temperatures.
While that doesn’t mean we’re guaranteed the worst winter on record, there’s certainly the potential for a bad one, says Environment Canada meteorologist David Jones.
“La Niña is like the cold cousin of El Niño,” Jones said. “The dice are loaded in favour of colder weather.”
There are many examples of La Niña years that received less snow than “neutral” years, but six out of the eight past La Niña years saw
above-average rainfall between October and December and below average temperatures between January and March.
The Farmers’ Almanac is also predicting a cool year.
According to the 2010-11 forecast,
“winter temperatures will be a bit below normal . . . with below-normal precipitation and above-normal snowfall.”
Bruce Fatkin, manager of the Langley Community Farmers’ Market, said local farmers might read the almanac, although it is with “tongue planted firmly in cheek.”
The record for the highest single-day snowfall in Vancouver came in 1996 when 41 cm fell on Dec. 29, smashing a record from 1916.
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