The Blob that was heating up the North Pacific Ocean has been pronounced dead. The polar vortex that spins the jet stream predictably west to east across the Gulf of Alaska is decaying.
And the consequences for the 49th state’s weather are anyone’s guess.
The time may have come to get ready to say good-bye to the lovely white Christmas that settled on the Anchorage metro area, or make sure there’s plenty of fuel on hand for the snowblower.
Unpredictability is what makes winter weather entertaining for the majority of Alaskans, who occupy a habitat caught between the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean to the south and the cold bulk of a land mass that abuts the frozen Arctic Ocean to the north.
Because of those two differing forces, a lot of the weather depends on from which direction it arrives.
A weakening polar vortex at this time portends a shift in the upper atmosphere that will start the jet stream moving south to north through the Gulf bringing warm, moist air into the 49th state.
When The Blob was in play, the consequences were quite something. After the vortex faltered in January 2014 and Arctic air spilled south to put a chill on the lower 48, temperatures across Alaska skyrocketed.
The Kenai Peninsula community of Homer hit a record 57 degrees on January 27 that year.
“On the 22nd (of January) the National Weather Service calculated that Alaska, at an average temperature of 24°F, was warmer than the lower 48
states with an average of 22°F,” the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy later reported.
That was one crazy winter. Sled dog races were cancelled. Denali National Park and Preserve was closed to snowmachines in the middle of winter when most of the snow blew away. Ski races were called off. The Manatuska-Susitna Borough issued an almost unheard of winter wildfire warning.
But The Blob is now gone, and the cooler water in the Gulf this December compared to the past few suggests the weather reaching the mainland might not be as warm and moist as it was in 2014.
The hope of Alaska snow-sport fans is that the result will be that any air moving south to north over the Pacific will cool enough to deliver the moisture in the form of gobs of snow.
Whether that hope becomes a reality is totally unpredictable.
The National Weather Service was today hedging its bet on the forecast for even a week out.
All that appears clear is that the jet stream is already wobbling enough to set up those pressure ridges that steer storm systems north across the Gulf.
“Each one of these systems will have the potential to bring a surge of warm air into the mainland with it,” the discussion said. “However, we will not start investigating a specific system until the models have come into better agreement….”
Categories: News
As tje hippy dippy weatherman used to say, expect freezing and dark for six months, followed by two months of cold and sunny, then four months off and on shivering rain. In the interim,
search for cheap tickets to Hawaii. The grass skirts wobble there year round.
2019 is almost here! Thank God and Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. We made it through another year.
Hallelujah, brother!
Not sure if you heard James but Dan Jory passed recently. I’m going to miss that guy.
This explains much, including the daily posters here: https://meaww.com/smoking-weed-marijuana-ages-brain-almost-three-years-study-shows
I’m thinking the “wobble, wobble” has gotten to you Burt.
This may help: https://cannasos.com/strains/sativa/blob-og
So, just in case any of the “Sheeple” are following our weather patterns, remember the information we already have at hand…
The D.O.D. and DARPA funds weather modeling and “forecasts” aka predictions through private for profit corporations like AER (Verisk Analytics).
The D.O.D through DARPA also built, managed and ran the HAARP for years…there are still Air Force signs at site in Alaska.
AER claims they have done “weather experiments” in the past…
NOAA and NWS as well as D.O.D. all get their weather forcasts from AER.
The Blob was “created” by extremely warm air in the Atnosphere above the Arctic?
The HAARP is an “Ionosphere Heater” or Atmosphere Heater from what is published on the location…
Russia also has a very large HAARP in the Arctic?
It is not foolish to deduce that artificial atmospheric heaters could have contributed to this weather phenomenon known as “The Blob”.
For the Fox News masses, the warm weather and changing climate narrative will continue as “El Nino vs. The Blob” as we move forward.
Stay frosty, watch out for avalanches and thin ice as warm air returns to our region.
“The Blob was “created” by extremely warm air in the Atmosphere above the Arctic?”.
Good luck trying to find any proof or documentation on that.Wx generally moves west to east, across the Pacific.Much like all of our ocean currents.There are local differences and counter currents, but big picture is west to east.
The killer blob came from Eastern Pacific and took some time to get here(and leave).
Dave Mc
Oh yeh?
“Brett schneider says scientists knew the Blob was caused by unusual atmospheric conditions. But there was more to the story.”
(APRN this year)
Another story describing “The Blob” stated:
“Both of these are attributed to a static high pressure region in the atmosphere, termed the Ridiculously Resilient Ridge, which has existed since spring 2014”.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.geekwire.com/2018/caused-2014s-west-coast-bird-die-off-scientists-blame-blob/amp/
Dave,
“Another climatologist, Matt Newman of theUniversity of Colorado, does not think the Blob fits the pattern of a shift in the PDO. He believes the unusually warm water is due to the persistent area of high pressure stationary over the northeastern Pacific Ocean.”
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blob_(Pacific_Ocean)
But I thought Global Warming was certain and predictable according to some here?
Careful here Bryan, it appears that Craig is talking weather rather than Climate.