Winter Weather Preparedness Week

Governor declared the week of November 28th - December 4th as Winter Weather Preparedness Week in NC. Jeff Orrack of the National Weather Servies Provided daily statements, which may be downloaded below, and the following information. 

For summaries and case studies of past winter storms as well as other local storms please visit: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/rah/events/

Winter Outlook...
Overall predictions call for better chances than normal for temperatures to be above normal and precipitation below normal. This should result in a less active winter when compared to last year in which snow and overall precipitation was well above normal.

The main climate signal is La Nina in the Pacific Ocean which typically weakens the jet stream in winter and shifts it slightly north. This usually means a reduction in winter storms and precipitation. That said this prediction does not mean there will be no winter storm activity in NC this winter. It is worth noting the record snowfall which buried Central NC under 2 feet of snow on January 25,2000 (see http://www4.ncsu.edu/~nwsfo/storage/cases/20000125/) occurred during a La Nina cycle.

For details on the NOAA Winter outlook please see http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2010/20101021_winteroutlook.html

Please see the attached file for references on how La Nina and El Nino impact the U.S and east coast. Again La Nina conditions are expected to persist through the winter.