12-20-2015, 11:04 AM
This was no ordinary storm as a big chunk of extremely cold air poured off Asia. This air mass originated in Siberia (which for the last few months has had a much above normal snow cover extent) and into the Gulf of Alaska and a meteorological "bomb" was created last Sat./Sun. Dec.-12/13-2015. Winds were recorded as high as 122kts (cat.1) and seas rose to at least 30';
http://tinyurl.com/j8xwo99
One week later the cold air associated with this "bomb" is now pushing South of us. The front at one time reached from here all the way to Calif. where very beneficial heavy snow fell across the Sierras.
Tied with the strongest storm ever observed at least since 1970, this storm caused havoc across the Aleutians;
http://tinyurl.com/jqcp5ht
For the first time this year a Maritime Polar air mass has pushed South of Hawaii to our SE. Because of the "blob" (warm SSTs off the West Coast of NA) and the "Ridiculously Resilient Ridge's" position these air masses had a much harder time moving South the last couple of years, one of the factors that led, in my opinion, to the record El Nino and Calif.'s incredible drought Not this year as it's going to be one Polar Maritime frontal boundary after another slamming into the ITCZ.
This will fuel even more convection in the ITCZ creating the feedback (clouds,rains) that will bring below normal Sea Surface Temperatures to Puna by Mar. 2016;
http://tinyurl.com/z7phe9b
and completely demolish El Nino to neutral if not to La Nina conditions by the Spring/Summer of 2016;
http://meteora.ucsd.edu/~pierce/elnino/pictures.html
http://tinyurl.com/j8xwo99
One week later the cold air associated with this "bomb" is now pushing South of us. The front at one time reached from here all the way to Calif. where very beneficial heavy snow fell across the Sierras.
Tied with the strongest storm ever observed at least since 1970, this storm caused havoc across the Aleutians;
http://tinyurl.com/jqcp5ht
For the first time this year a Maritime Polar air mass has pushed South of Hawaii to our SE. Because of the "blob" (warm SSTs off the West Coast of NA) and the "Ridiculously Resilient Ridge's" position these air masses had a much harder time moving South the last couple of years, one of the factors that led, in my opinion, to the record El Nino and Calif.'s incredible drought Not this year as it's going to be one Polar Maritime frontal boundary after another slamming into the ITCZ.
This will fuel even more convection in the ITCZ creating the feedback (clouds,rains) that will bring below normal Sea Surface Temperatures to Puna by Mar. 2016;
http://tinyurl.com/z7phe9b
and completely demolish El Nino to neutral if not to La Nina conditions by the Spring/Summer of 2016;
http://meteora.ucsd.edu/~pierce/elnino/pictures.html