. Earth Science News .
Meteorologists Predict Mild Winter For US

This next winter will be colder than the last, with an average of five to 10 percent more days when heating is needed.
by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Oct 10, 2006
US meteorologists on Tuesday predicted that the coming winter will be a mild one for much of the United States, with above-average temperatures spurred by a weather trend in the Pacific known as El Nino. The higher temperatures should also mean a reduced demand for fuel and natural gas.

"The strengthening El Nino event will influence the position and strength of the jet stream over the Pacific Ocean, which in turn will affect winter precipitation and temperature patterns across the country," said Michael Halpert, lead meteorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center.

"This event is likely to result in fewer cold air outbreaks in the country than would be expected to occur in a typical non-El Nino winter," he added in a statement on NOAA's website.

Spanish for "The Boy," El Nino is a weather pattern arising from the warming of the sea surface over the equatorial areas of the Pacific Ocean.

The phenomenon hits countries in the Pacific basin once every few years, sometimes with deadly results.

El Nino's last appearance in 1997-1998 helped trigger severe fires, rainfall and cyclones across America, Africa, Asia and Australia that killed 22,000 people. The price tag of those catastrophes was estimated at 34 billion dollars.

From this December to February 2007, 48 of the 50 US states could see an average two percent reduction in the number of days when Americans need to heat their homes.

Nonetheless, this next winter will be colder than the last, with an average of five to 10 percent more days when heating is needed.

Last winter was the fifth-warmest on record in the United States, with an average temperature of 2.4 degrees Celsius (36.3 degrees Fahrenheit).

The mildest winter on record came in 1999-2000, when the average temperature was 2.8 degrees Celsius (37 degrees Fahrenheit).

Source: Agence France-Presse

Related Links
NOAA Climate Prediction Center
Weather News at TerraDaily.com

Northrop Grumman Delivers Computing Solution For Improved Hurricane Forecasting
Mclean Va (SPX) Oct 04, 2006
Northrop Grumman, in partnership with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Intel and Silicon Graphics, has delivered a unique high performance computing solution to NASA to improve hurricane forecasts. NASA will use the solution for its African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (NAMMA) campaign.







  • Inter-Korean Projects In Jeopardy
  • British Experts Smoke Out Hi-Tech Help For Fire Rescue
  • Year Of 'Quake Jihad' For Pakistan Militants
  • Musharraf Slams Oxfam Over Pakistan Quake Warning

  • Asia-Pacific Faces Global Warming Disaster
  • Global Warming Will Alter Character Of The Northeast
  • Arctic Sea Ice Declines Again In 2006
  • Arctic Fever Getting Hotter

  • NASA Satellite Data Helps Assess the Health of Florida's Coral Reef
  • Alcatel Alenia Space To Build SIRAL-2 Radar Altimeter For CryoSat-2
  • Earth from Space: The French Frigate Shoals
  • European Microsatellite Playing Major Role In Scientific Studies

  • Russian Export Blend Could Replace Urals Crude As Main Index Setter
  • Russia-Germany Energy Cooperation Could Be Extended
  • Can Colorado Oil Shale Ease America Energy Woes
  • Sandia Selected As National Center for Solid-State Lighting Research

  • West Java Goes Own Way On Avian Flu Management
  • A Biocontrol Agent Which Doesn't Trigger Antibiotic Resistance
  • US, Australian Scientists Develop Vaccine Against Deadly Viruses
  • 'Killer' B Cells Provide New Link In The Evolution Of Immunity

  • Bacteria Do Not Have Species
  • Grant Awarded To Study Interaction Of Ecology And Evolution
  • The Running Out Of Energy And Dropping Dead Theory Of Life Challenged
  • Study Pinpoints Tropics As Biodiversity Spawning Ground

  • Canadin Prime Minister Says New Clean Air Act Coming
  • Monitoring Contaminants In Water Systems In Real Time
  • EU Lawmakers Uphold Environmentalist Approach On Chemicals
  • Manganese Can Keep Toxic Hydrogen Sulfide Zones In Check In Aquatic Systems

  • More Than Meets The Human Eye
  • Chinese Oldest Academy Celebrates 1,030 Years
  • Identity Of Ancient Child Skeleton Found In Ethiopia Challenged
  • Family Tree Of Confucius Has One And A Half Million Members

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement