NOAM Temperature Departures - January '09

The negative temperature departures observed in December sagged south and east from south-central Canada into the Great Lakes region and New England in January. Warm anomalies switched coasts in response to higher 500 mb geo-heights in the west and lower heights in the east along the predominant storm track. A number of high-profile seasonal forecasts expected mild temperatures in the east...highlighting the difficulty of beating the house.



Positive precipitation departures were observed over Canada/a west coast and along the spine of the central Appalachia.



Cumulative temperature and precipitation anomalies...season-to-date.





Plots courtesy ESRL - Physical Sciences Division