Anomalies in the Weather

With global weather gone wild nowadays, there really aren't that many 'anomalies' in the weather anymore. In fact, the new normal is for the weather not to be normal.

The latest thing is a variation on the El-Nino and La-Nina cycle which causes the jetstream to deviate from the 'normal' pattern. The Arctic Oscillation also plays a role in this. The consensus now is that it is a La-Nina year with a strong Arctic Oscillation.

Basically it means that the western parts of North America are getting hit with record cold temperatures as the jestream has shifted to the right. Conversely, much of the SE part of the continent, for example is enjoying record warmth for this time of year and balmy breezes from the tropics.

This would certainly apply to us in Shanghai, as the jetstream patterns on side of the world mirror the patterns on the other. This time of year normally sees freezing cold arctic fronts and temperatures down to almost zero. But now we have consistently stayed about 10 degrees and it has not been windy at all. It is a total change to last year.

Other parts of the world, not like this. Friends back in Western Canada, for example, are suffering with extreme cold and snowstorms unheard of for this time of year. Sure makes me glad to be over here ---- at least for this year.