Winter '17 / '18 - Snow Storm #1: Close Call

Valley Forge ... PA
16-DEC-70

Some winter storms ... like the one affecting a large swath of the M-A and SNE coastal plain this weekend ... have a sneaky way of not playing its 'snow card' until it's too late to issue a 'Call for Forecasts' and a contest-worthy storm ends up slipping through the cracks.

This has been especially true over the years for primarily rain events featuring a ribbon of accumulating snows along the NW edge of the precipitation shield.

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Call it a failure of numerical weather prediction.
Call it a failure of operational weather forecasters.
Call it Banana-Bana ... BO-Bana ... FE-FI ... FO-fanna ...

Either way ... the 19th Annual NEWxSFC awaits its inaugural event for Winter '17 / '18.

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But did anyone ... anywhere ... get it right three days out?

Why ... yes.  'Someone' did get it right.
The 06/12z NAM ... of all things ... kinda nailed it (GFS was all along ... all in on all liquid).


Image courtesy MeteoCentre

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Logistically ... the deadline for this storm would have been FRI evening given snow was expected to begin over the forecast area by early SAT AM.  With a FRI deadline ... the 'Call for Forecasts' would have been issued THU evening.  The NCEP forecast at that time called for 10% chance for at least 4" over interior VA stations and a 10% chance for at least 4" along the coasts of NJ continuing into SNE.

As outlined in this post from 2016 ... issuing a 'Call for Forecasts' is not a trivial matter.

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Had this been the Day3 NCEP prog ... there would have been more than enough lead time to issue the call and the season would be up and running.

Instead ... the call ended up being too close.

Winter '17 / '18 - Arctic Oscillation - NOV

NOV/s Arctic Oscillation (AO) Index:  -0.078

Given NOV-17/s negative AO ... the 2x2 contingency table predicts a 72% likelihood the three-month average AO will be negative this winter.  The results says nothing about the magnitude of the winter/s AO or which months will be negative ... only its sign.

NOTE:
True + ==> correct prediction
False + ==> incorrect prediction


Scatterplot of the 67-year AO period of record (1950 - 2016)

Lower left quad:  NOV -AO and DJF -AO
Lower right quad:  NOV +AO and DJF -AO

Upper left quad:  NOV -AO and DJF +AO
Upper right quad:  NOV +AO and DJF +AO

Related posts by NEWxSFC ...
Winter '17 / '18 - NOV/s Arctic Oscillation: Winter/s Leading Indicator
http://newxsfc.blogspot.com/search?q=arctic+oscillation

Winter '17 / '18 - 17th Annual 'Season-total' Snowfall Forecast Contest - The Forecasts!

17 forecasters + P-O-R-N + CONSENSUS

Two first-time forecasters
Welcome Any.wx and 33andrain

475 station forecasts
Entries ranked by STP

BLUE - <= 25th percentile
RED - >= 75th percentile
ORANGE - Winter '16 / '17 Top 'Season-total' forecaster
P-O-R-N - period of record normal
CONSENSUS - average of individual forecasts by station

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Station forecasts for ...
BELOW average snowfall - 189 (40%)
AVERAGE snowfall - 26 (5%)
ABOVE average snowfall - 260 (55%)

NOTE:  Label should read '17 / '18

Consensus (at least 67% of forecasts) for stations with ...
BELOW average snowfall @ ACY ... IAD ... RIC ... ORF ... RDU
ABOVE average snowfall @ CAR ... BGR ... CON ... BTV ... PWM ... ORH ... PVD ... BDL ... BGM ... BDR
Forecasters are all in for above average snows @ BDR

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See all forecasters' entries at the Contest/s web site here.

The regular 'snow storm' forecasting contests begin when the flakes start a-flyin'.
'Call for Forecasts' are issued at NEWxSFC/s web site and blog (you are here) ... via e-mail ... and Facebook.

Winter '17 / '18 - 17th Annual 'Season-total' Snowfall Forecast Contest - Call for Forecasts!

NEWxSFC Meteorologist-in-Charge
Seasonal Forecasts

NE.Wx/s 17th annual ‘Season-total' Snowfall Forecast Contest is the absolute best ... biggest ... and probably ONLY chance to be recognized for your long-range forecasting acumen ;/

And it's easy.

All you have to do is issue the best forecast for the season-total snowfall at 25 east coast stations from RDU to CAR!

Deadline: THU ... 30-NOV-17 @ 11:59 PM EST

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Visit the Contest's website to enter your forecast.
Follow the link at the top of the page to 'Enter Season-total Forecast.'

Read more »

Winter '17 / '18 - North Atlantic Oscillation Analog Years

To date ... 1990 is the leading analog year for the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) in the run-up to the coming winter.

The average NAO for Winter '17 / '18 would turn out positive should this come to pass.  The analog forecast reaches winter's NAO/s minimum in DEC and its maximum in FEB before declining at the start of meteorological spring.

One problem.
Winter '90 / '91 ENSO/s signal was warm La Nada (+0.4°C ENSO Region 3.4 temperature anomaly) yet a weak La Nina appears in the cards for this year and unlike this year ... the corresponding PDO analog year was negative (this year it's positive; trending negative) and QBO was west-positive (this year it's east-negative and trending same).

And herein lies the problem with analogs.
Analog years don't exist in a vacuum.
'94 / '95 moderate El Nino; cool PDO trending warmer; QBO east trending west [REJECTED]
'54 / '55  moderate La Nina; cool PDO trending cooler; QBO east trending west [REJECTED]
'04 / '05 weak El Nino; PDO cool trending warmer;  QBO west trending west [REJECTED]
/73 / '74 strong La Nina; cool PDO, QBO west [REJECTED]

Other teleconnection indexes frequently confound the potential predictive value of a particular index.

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Other correlation-type analysis techniques can also provide insight into the likely state of important winter teleconnection indexes.

Analysis of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index's period-of-record reveals a statistically significant association (Chi-square Test for Independence; alpha = 0.05) between its sign for the month of NOV and the sign of the average NAO index during a subsequent meteorological winter (D-J-F).

Period-of-record correlation analysis finds if NOV/s NAO is positive (negative) ... then there's a 73% (54%) probability the winter's average NAO/s sign will also be positive (negative).  The analysis false alarm rate is 27% (46%).

Winter '17 / '18 - Fans of cold and snow in the U.S. will love this new winter outlook

Or so reads the headline from Mashable which comes with these nuggets of questionable conventional wisdom:

"Along the East Coast of the U.S., for example, major snowstorms tend to take place when a blocking pattern
is in place over Greenland." which more than explains why the AO index for 16 of the KU 66 storms rated '3' or higher was greater than zero including the Storm of the Century (1996).  The AO was positive for 42 storms in the landmark study.

The claim "When the Arctic Oscillation is negative, cold and snowy conditions are favored (though not guaranteed) in the eastern U.S." is unsupported by the data but why let pesky facts get in the way of a quality click-bait headline.


Don't know why the FB text field doesn't render.  Displays OK in Blogger's editor.
Here's the text ...

"Laying to rest the claim season-total snowfall in the NE and M-A is associated with winter's average Arctic Oscillation index.

"A mere 13% of the variability in NE and M-A season-total snowfall is explained by variability in the D-J-F average Arctic Oscillation."

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What's not to love?

Winter '17 / '18 - What about snow during La Niña winters?

From the ENSO blog at Climate.gov

"This La Niña footprint is pretty intuitive.

"Given the northward shift of the storm track, relatively cold and wet conditions are favored over the northern Rockies and northern Plains, resulting in the enhancement of snowfall.

"Warmer and drier winters are more likely during La Niña over more southern states, and this is exactly where seasonal snowfall tends to be reduced (4).

"The more vigorous storm track and slight tilt toward colder temperatures over the northern tier of U.S. during La Niña modestly increases the chance of a relatively snowy winter.

"We can break up the snow pattern further and look at the weakest and strongest La Niña events.  Splitting La Niña events into strength reveals some interesting differences worth investigating further.

"In this preliminary analysis below, there is a suggestion that weaker events are snowier over the Northeast and northern and central Plains on average."

More ...

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NOTE:  the data period ends '09 / '10.  Since then ... there have been two El Ninos (one quite strong) ... two La Ninas ... and three cool La Nadas.

Winter '17 / '18 - Arctic Oscillation Analog Years

 

To date ... 1973 is the leading analog year for the Arctic Oscillation (AO) in the run-up to the coming winter.

The average AO for Winter '17 / '18 would turn out negative should this come to pass.  The analog forecast has winter's AO/s minimum extent in FEB then continues its decline into meteorological spring and suggests a late-winter stratospheric warming event.

One problem.
Winter '73 / '74 ENSO/s signal was strong La Nina (-1.8°C temperature anomaly) yet a weak La Nina appears in the cards for this year and unlike this year ... the corresponding PDO analog year was negative (this year it's positive; trending negative) and QBO was west-positive (this year it's east-negative and trending same).

And herein lies the problem with analogs.
Analog years don't exist in a vacuum.
'08 / '09 weak La Nina; cool PDO trending warmer; QBO west [REJECTED]
'54 / '55 weak La Nina; cool PDO trending cooling; QBO east trending west [REJECTED]
'95 / '96  weak La Nina; warm PDO trending cooler; QBO west trending east [BEST MATCH]
'94 / '95 moderate El Nino; warm trending cooler;  QBO east trending west [REJECTED]

Other teleconnection indexes frequently confound the potential predictive value of a particular index.

---
Other correlation-type analysis techniques can also provide insight into the likely state of important winter teleconnection indexes.

Analysis of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) index's period-of-record reveals a statistically significant association (Chi-square Test for Independence; alpha = 0.05) between its sign for the month of NOV and the sign of the average AO index during a subsequent meteorological winter (D-J-F).

Period-of-record correlation analysis finds if NOV/s AO is negative (positive) ... then there's a 72% (52%) probability the winter's average AO/s sign will also be negative (positive).  The analysis false alarm rate is 28% (48%).

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Historical note:  this is NEWxSFC web log's 1000th post!

Winter '17 / '18 - Outlooks

Thread updated periodically as new outlooks and forecasts are issued from a variety of credible sources.

 

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Judah Cohen (AER) via National Science Foundation

"The combination of cold and wet could result in an above normal snow season for parts of the northern U.S., including the large population centers of the northeastern U.S.

 

"... indicators suggest ... the polar vortex will break down later this winter, potentially unleashing an extended period of severe winter weather." (ED:  not necessarily over the Western Hemisphere)

 

 

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International Research Institute for Climate and Society

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Cohen (AER):  DCA 17"; BOS 64"; all large cities in the NE and M-A above normal

Bastardi (WxBell Analytics):  PHL 30"; DCA near normal

Crawford (Wx Co.):  DCA 17"

Rogers (Commodity Wx Group):  DCA below normal

Tolleris (WxRisk):  DCA near normal

Capital Wx Gang:  DCA 11"; IAD 16"; BWI 16"

Accu-Wx:  I-95 corridor near normal; NYC/BOS >=6" above normal

NECN:  New England near normal 

 

Read more »

Winter '17 / '18 - NOV/s Arctic Oscillation: Winter/s Leading Indicator

The sign of NOV/s Arctic Oscillation (AO) index has a statistically significant (Chi-square Test for Independence; p <= 0.05) association with the sign of the average AO index during meteorological winter (D-J-F).

AO Contingency Table
p = 0.046	Nov +	Nov -	Total
D-J-F +	16	10	26
D-J-F -	15	26	41
Total	31	36	67
True +	52%	28%	False -
False -	48%	72%	True +

'True + (-)' indicates a true (false) prediction.

IOW ... if NOV/s AO is negative ... then there's a 72% chance the winter's average AO/s sign will also be negative ...

...and the association between the AO/s negative sign for NOV and D-J-F has a 28% 'false alarm rate' (FAR).

The relationship is nowhere near as strong when NOV/s AO is positive (48% FAR).

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Interesting ... albeit different ... relationship between NOV/s North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO).