Weather Talk: La Nina continues to influence our winter

By John Wheeler Today at 4:30 a.m.

One of the contributing factors to our up-and-down winter season has been the ongoing La Nina in the tropical region of the Pacific Ocean.

La Nina disrupts the jet stream pattern by causing a large region of persistent thunderstorms over the western tropical Pacific Ocean. It is one of many weather features that can influence the jet stream.

This winter's pattern has been particularly "blocky," meaning the jet stream has had a tendency to displace warm air very far northward in some places while sending Arctic air way south in other places, and then locking these anomalies in for days or weeks at a time.

The retreat of the cold, dry air for the moment opens up the possibilities of snowstorms coming our way from the southwestern U.S. It is also possible that Arctic air will return before the winter is over.

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John Wheeler

John was born in Baton Rouge, LA, and grew up near Birmingham, Alabama. As a teenager, his family moved to Madison, Wisconsin, and later to a small town in northeast Iowa. John traces his early interest in weather to the difference in climate between Alabama and Wisconsin. He is a graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in meteorology. Like any meteorologist, John is intrigued by extremes of weather, especially arctic air outbreaks and winter storms.  John has been known to say he prefers his summers to be hot but in winter, he prefers the cold.  When away from work, John enjoys long-distance running and reading.  John has been a meteorologist at WDAY since May of 1985.

JWheeler@wday.com
(701) 241-5387
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