Afternoon Video Update: NAO Blocking Signal Grows

Good afternoon! The well-advertised signal of high-latitude blocking developing in the 2nd half of November continues to grow. It all starts with an amplification and slowing down of a Pacific wave train, which helps to pump latent heat towards the Poles, further leading to ridging extending towards the Poles. Subsequently, this changes the background state of the Arctic to the point where North Atlantic blocking becomes more feasible, and thus the entire Arctic is able to see blocking. This has big implications as we head into late November and December.

We explain and discuss all of this in our latest video update. For more written content regarding the blocking episode please refer to this article. For more context as to why this blocking is so important for cold in the East, please refer to this article.

The next step is figuring out how long exactly this blocking episode will last. We will keep you updated on our findings over the next few days!