News

La Niña not panning out

An ag meteorologist says expectations for 2016’s strong El Niño weather pattern to transition into an equally strong La Niña didn’t necessarily hold true.

USDA deputy chief meteorologist Mark Brusberg tells Brownfield experts anticipated this year’s weather system transitions to be similar to 1997 to 1998.  “I think that with the strong El Niño and then back in the early part of this year when they had the forecast for the strong La Niña at the end of the year, people just got really excited and they assumed that everything was going to happen like it did in ‘97/98.”  He says each El Niño event is different with about a 60 to 80 percent predictability.

Brusberg says warming temperatures in the Pacific are creating more a neutral weather system rather than the predicted La Niña which brings warmer and drier winter conditions to the southern U.S. and colder and wetter conditions to the north.

AUDIO: Interview with Mark Brusberg