How the Arctic is Keeping Us Warm

The earth is a system.  Everything is connected in someway, and that's especially true within the atmosphere.  A historic El Nino is shaping up across the Equatorial Pacific.  Historically warm ocean waters in that part of the country will give us a warmer than average winter with less snowfall.  But there's also another contributing factor to our weather, and it's centered over the Arctic.

Take a look at the cold temperatures in Canada.  Typically this time of the year the cold surges south and has a tendency to stay.  The cold outbreaks can be traced back to upper level winds around the arctic knows as the "arctic oscillation".

The forecast is for the AO to stay positive for at least the next 7 days; that means warmer than average air for us!