The Winter, So Far

I'm kind of exasperated by the winter so far. Precipitation is about half normal in the valleys, and about 80% of normal in the mountains. We're within striking distance of normal, but not there. The drought continues.

It's been raining a lot in the Pacific Northwest (good - they need it) and we get the tail ends of their storms (next ones forecast for here on Saturday and Monday), but it's just not enough. It's too dry in western Nevada and the Mojave Desert. Quiet on the Southwestern front too: the East Pacific High has suppressed anything El Niño might throw our way. It's raining a lot near Wake and Midway Islands, but that does us no good.

One interesting tidbit is the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) finally budged downwards in November. It's been stuck on hot, hot, hot for the last year, and we've been hot too since we are so close to it, but it's been stormy in the NE Pacific since September, and the wind is finally stripping out some of that heat. Hopes continue for a more-normal pattern of weather.