Weather

Does El Nino equal a mild winter? My quick answer: IF we end up with a milder-than-average winter, it probably will have little to do with El Nino. And, when all is said and done, the winter may not end up being milder. Some of you are familiar with the idea of warm winters around here being connected with an El Nino. In fact, warmer winters are tied to very strong El Ninos. El Ninos happen at somewhat irregular intervals, but they do occur with some frequency. Very strong El Ninos, on the other hand, occur with much lower frequency. We recently had a very strong El Nino, one of the strongest on record, just two winters ago. El Nino occurs when westerly winds across the tropical Pacific push the warmer waters more often found in the western Pacific toward the east central or eastern Pacific. When this typically large plume of warmer waters moves east, the warmth releases more heat and moisture into the atmosphere above it, triggering more convection. This shift of heat energy, moisture … [Read more...] about Buffalo Niagara’s winter weather depends on a lot more than El Nino

Lauren Ehrler [email protected] Published 1:45 PM EDT Sep 28, 2018 Editor's note: This story originally published in October 2016. The magic of Halloween is that for one night — or one Beggars' Night, if we’re talking about central Iowans — you can be anything you want to be. When young boys and girls head out to trick-or-treat, they can dress up as superheroes, princesses or ghoulish monsters. (Although, maybe dressing as a clown isn’t such a good idea this year.) But for Iowa kids, there is often one small limit to their imaginations: The costume must also be warm. Beggars' Night essentials: When is Beggars' Night this year? Beggars' Night safety tips The average temperature on Oct. 31 in Des Moines, according to National Weather Service data, is a crisp 47.3 degrees. That’s hat-and-glove weather by some mom standards. Although 47.3 is the average, most Iowans can remember a Halloween or two that felt more like winter … [Read more...] about Cold weather can’t chill Halloween spirit for Iowa kids

Naples Daily News Published 12:48 PM EDT Sep 28, 2018 It may be fall but warm temperatures are holding steady as Naples is expected to hit 95 on Saturday, tying the record for that day set in 1989. "So it's going to be a scorcher out there," said James Thomas, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami, which covers the Naples area. Thomas said predominantly easterly winds have been in place over the past few days, which brings warmer temperatures to the Southwest coast.  Fort Myers is expected to top out at 92 degrees, which is 1 degree below the record (1996).  "The heat index could be ranging from 105 to 107, which is quite toasty," Thomas said. "Fall is not quite here yet but we do have some relief on Sunday with only a high of 92, and it looks like the heat index will be around 103. It's not too much of a noticeable difference but it's a couple of degrees." Beat the SWFL heat: 15 fun things to do indoors More: U.S. Coast Guard medevacs … [Read more...] about Hot temperatures grip region, cooler weather weeks away