EPO ridging a sign of changing pattern across USA
A pattern in fluctuation has led to several changes in sensible weather conditions across the Continental USA over the past few weeks. Stagnant warmth gave way to several shots of cold air, first affecting the Northern Plains and eventually leaking southward into the Tennessee and Ohio River Valleys. The change in wavelengths and increased amplitude led to the development of a few significant storm systems; namely one which brought snow to the Upper Midwest, and another which delivered damaging winds and torrential rain to the Northeast.
The hemispheric pattern is set to change again as we approach the middle part of this week, with appreciable changes already occurring in the Pacific Ocean. As we discuss quite often, what occurs in the Pacific Ocean from the Bering Sea towards the Gulf of Alaska (more affectionately known as the North Pacific) can often have major implications on the weather in the USA. There are other factors to consider, always, but we can often look there for clues, and the coming weeks will be no different.