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Looking Ahead to Spring 2012


North Balti Zen

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General spring chatter ftw?

And, on a more specific question note...

This will be my 3rd spring since moving to the MA, and am still getting a handle on the weather patterns here. I think it is a factual statement that we don't get the same numbers or ferocity of severe storms as one might see across the south, midwest, and certainly the plain states. But presumably there are weather patterns that setup that are conducive to spring storms over this way, at least more conducive than I have observed in the previous two springs.

While I am not as big a fan of severe storms as Ian or Mark, for instance, I do love a good spring storm season (living in the mid-South (Memphis/Nashville) for 13 years prior to moving here was a good spot to be in for severe storms).

So...while this winter has been pretty crappy for snow lovers, does a moderate 2nd-year Nina offer a greater chance at seeing a more robust spring severe weather season than we have seen the last few years? I guess I am asking what the "general" atmospheric regime is that is most conducive to a good storm season in the MA.

If I am asking that in a manner that is less than bright, my apologies ahead of time.

Thanks.

---Aaron

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For those who have asked elsewhere about a spring thread, there was this one from a week ago.

My question still out there for the severe weather guys, and a more general one, what kind of spring is "typical" for a 2nd year Nina in the MA? Cool and wet? Warm and wet? Dry? Stormy? Or do those concepts not really apply to the spring regime like they do for winter regimes?

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This spring will be a complete blowtorch just like the last two. Death ridge ftl

(I know, I know- you don't believe me. No one believed it last year either when I posted the same thing on Accuweather forums- everyone was expecting their nice, cool spring. We all know how that turned out.)

I wish we'd get a cool spring/summer like 09 again though. :cry:

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Today is pretty darn nice. I'm breaking out of work early to enjoy the weather.

Anyone else concerned about Mar-Apr being cold, dreary, and wet? Just a hunch but I think we might pay for having such a mild winter. If it does happen, insult added to injury would be an understatement.

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Today is pretty darn nice. I'm breaking out of work early to enjoy the weather.

Anyone else concerned about Mar-Apr being cold, dreary, and wet? Just a hunch but I think we might pay for having such a mild winter. If it does happen, insult added to injury would be an understatement.

I sure hope not, and it doesn't always happen. For example, I recall April 2002 having an epic heat wave.

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Bob, yes, I am. Which is why I started the thread wondering what a "typical" Nina spring is for the MA? Should we be expecting cold, dreary and wet as a norm?

I have no idea what a normal nina spring should be like. I spend all my energy thinking about djfm every year. Once we hit mid March I stop paying attention to lr stuff and just stick to keeping an eye on the next 5 days.

The nina this year is kinda weak and it's probably going to wane as we go through spring. I'll pull a temp and precip composite for nina springs with tri-monthlies below 1.5 and see what it looks like. I'm not even sure if nina's drive spring patterns but they might. Nino's are generally cooler springs? I'm not sure but it rings a bell.

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I'm loving the bits of spring we've had all winter long. I've been planning my spring/summer garden for a few weeks now, and am getting antsy enough to go check on my garlic almost every day.

Can't wait for the stripers and shad in the Potomac, either. Such a great time of the year...

Just started thinking about my garden as well! I love making that first spring trip to Home Depot to get top soil, mulch, etc.

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Today is pretty darn nice. I'm breaking out of work early to enjoy the weather.

Anyone else concerned about Mar-Apr being cold, dreary, and wet? Just a hunch but I think we might pay for having such a mild winter. If it does happen, insult added to injury would be an understatement.

I have no idea if there's really any correlation between winters like the one we're having and cool springs, but it certainly has crossed my mind. If it did happen that way, it would be unappreciated, for sure.

I'd like temps be normal to slightly above in March and April, and for the summer to cool down some (i.e. "evening things out"), but that's just personal preference.

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Today is pretty darn nice. I'm breaking out of work early to enjoy the weather.

Anyone else concerned about Mar-Apr being cold, dreary, and wet? Just a hunch but I think we might pay for having such a mild winter. If it does happen, insult added to injury would be an understatement.

AHHHHH, YEA.....THAT WILL REALLY BRING ME TO THE EDGE.

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Daffodil shoots already are poking out in VA near the Potomac River.

Of course, something COULD come along to s*** on my parade this winter, but I don't see a reason (yet) to immediately prepare my flamethrower for action to defend DCA.

1.3" so far since September.

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Daffodil shoots already are poking out in VA near the Potomac River.

Of course, something COULD come along to s*** on my parade this winter, but I don't see a reason (yet) to immediately prepare my flamethrower for action to defend DCA.

1.3" so far since September.

The amazing thing about the Manhattan heat island, I am ~230 miles NE of you, and we are seeing the exact same thing. In fact, things have been starting to bloom here for the past few days (ever so slightly, I noticed the daffodil shoots yesterday). We haven't been below freezing since 6pm, Sunday Jan 22.

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Typically spring coming out of a La Nina winter would mean more severe... but this hasn't been a regular Nina.

To get more severe, one typically looks for a pattern that would allow for more upper-level cold air to come into the region via the polar jet, with a "clashing" of air masses (continental Polar from Canada vs. maritime Tropical from the Gulf of Mexico) over the region. La Ninas usually allow the polar jet to dip down from western Canada into the central and eastern US during the winter and early spring. However, this year the cold air has been locked up in Canada along with the polar jet, so I'm not sure if severe season will be booming around here unless we can get a pattern change that allows the polar jet to push further south.

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In some south facing locations, I've noticed forsythia in bloom for much of the winter. I've seem them in bloom in January before, but never for such an extended period.

I did notice the last few days a bunch of shoots popping here in Alexandria.

Also, none of the permanent palm plantings I know of were covered this year. Hopefully some of them are healthy enough to bloom this spring.

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In some south facing locations, I've noticed forsythia in bloom for much of the winter. I've seem them in bloom in January before, but never for such an extended period.

I did notice the last few days a bunch of shoots popping here in Alexandria.

Also, none of the permanent palm plantings I know of were covered this year. Hopefully some of them are healthy enough to bloom this spring.

That's something, along with daffodils, that I've seen talked about here for a while. At least in Winchester, I'm not seeing any of that. The only thing I've seen are those little yellow flowers that kinda look like impatiens. Those things didn't wilt with temps in the teens. I don't know what those are.

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