El Nino

While temperatures across the region have dropped considerably over the past couple of weeks, we remain very dry.  Marilyn Lohmann with the National Weather Service said the 2017-18 water year was not kind to the Inland Northwest.   “Much of the Columbia Basin is ending the water year with only 50% to 75% of normal precipitation.  Northern Wash...

A shift in hurricane activity from the Atlantic to the Pacific may be largely due to the transition from La Niña to El Niño. "A year ago, we were coming off of La Niña, and that was a much more conducive situation to major hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin, which is one of the reasons we ended up seeing Harvey, Irma and Maria in close order, creating devastating impacts for the United States,”

Should the Inland Northwest prepare for the El Niño weather pattern this winter?  According to Marilyn Lohmann with the National Weather Service, the answer is yes.   “Currently seeing a lot of water off the coast of South America to the Dateline showing that warming that’s characteristic of El Niño.  And the climate models are now pr...

Now that we have left the grip of La Niña, should the Northwest prepare for an El Niño?  Marilyn Lohmann with the National Weather Service says as we look ahead to the rest of 2018, the Northwest can expect drought conditions.   “And we’r...

Thursday is the first day of Summer, but don’t expect summer heat to take over the Inland Northwest anytime soon.  It appears that summer will start the way spring is ending, cool, cloudy, with isolated showers.  National Weather Service meteorologist Marilyn Lohmann said the heat isn’t expected to make itself know until the middle portion of next week.   “The overall...

Sea surface temperatures are on the rise, with some places seeing four to five degrees above normal while Northern Pacific temperatures are rapidly declining. That could mean an El Nino is in the cards for this year.   USDA Meteorologist Eric Luebehusen said according to the Climate Prediction Center and International Research Institute…   “They’re pretty much putting this at about a 50 percent ch

As La Nina fades, forecasters are expecting a neutral pattern through the summer, but some projections indicate a return of El Nino.   USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey is cautious.   “The official forecast from the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center does indicate a slowly increasing likelihood of El Nino returning by late-2017. But the odds a...

It’s time for the annual story that the previous year set a record for warmth, and 2016 did just that.   USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey said, “Record-setting warmth globally three consecutive years and five times since the beginning of the 21st Century.”   2016 averag...

USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey said that El Nino is now officially dead for this cycle and that the La Nina weather pattern has begun.   With the change, Rippey said there is some uncertainty about what this will mean.   “Historically there is increased risk of crop losses to be blunt about it. We went into a...

A new report by AgriBank projects livestock, dairy and egg sector margins to continue adjusting downward from record levels set in 2014.  The report called the egg industry “the largest percentage loser” due to bird flu and record high prices.  However, the r...