The state climatologist says it’s looking like Iowans may be in for a warmer winter ahead, and a season of less snow and more rain. Justin Glisan says he’s been studying the charts that gauge the water temperature in the eastern Pacific Ocean along the equator, and all the makings are there for a very strong El Nino (NEEN-yo) pattern, which means a warmer, wetter winter.
Iowa and the Midwest have experienced several winters over the past few decades during what are considered very strong El Ninos, and they typically follow certain patterns.
If the winter ahead has more rain, less snow, and warmer temperatures, that may dash the odds of Iowans seeing a white Christmas, which Glisan defines as having at least one inch of snow on the ground on December 25th.
According to the National Weather Service, there was at least an inch of snow on the ground in Des Moines on 40 of the past 83 Christmases, that’s just under half.
(Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)
