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Glenn Burns Weather
Prediction:
Fall colors will be brilliant but brief
It’s officially fall now and October is without a
doubt, one of my favorite months of the year. We generally begin
warm with average highs in the upper 70s, cooling to the upper 60s
by the end of the month. October is also one of the driest months of
the year where we average just over 3 inches of rain.
The fall color is beginning to show itself and I
predict the color this year will be spectacular, although
short-lived. Our drought conditions can be blamed for that. The
best time for viewing the fall color is late October through early
November. Pick a nice, sunny day. Blue skies present an amazing
backdrop to the oranges, yellows, and reds of autumn.
OK, I know with the coming of cooler temperatures we
begin to remember last winter. The brutal cold and frequent ice and
snow storms caused some major headaches, not to mention the
astronomical heating bills. From the data I have seen we have
several things happening with a great many variables.
First, we have a La Nina. That is much colder than
average sea surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific
Ocean. This diverts typical upper air wind patterns in such a way
that is usually gives us a warmer than normal winter with below
normal rainfall. However, like last year, there could be some
mitigating circumstances. There are certain blocking patterns in
the atmosphere called the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Arctic
Oscillation. They are somewhat technical to describe and if you are
so inclined, you can Google both to get a better understanding on
how each tends to bring us colder than normal winter weather. The
bottom line is a negative North Atlantic Oscillation and Arctic
Oscillation is what brought the bitter cold to the Southeast from
the far reaches of northern Canada and the Arctic.
It won’t be long when we see a pattern begin to
emerge. If this does happen, cold weather will begin early and stay
with us for the duration. There is nothing etched in granite just
yet, but some of the early warning signs are definitely there. I
will keep you up to date but between you and me, I think it’s going
to be another cold one!
Enjoy the fall color and the early warmth of October
and we’ll see what happens in the next 30 days.
Glenn Burns is chief meteorologist for WSB-TV in Atlanta.
glenn@lakesidenews.com |
