La Nina will weaken
By Terry Murry on Thursday, February 9th, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – The Climate Prediction Center forecasts that the area will gradually move out of its La Nina weather patterns. Meteorologist Camden Plunkett says that the experts expect it to move into an ENSO neutral pattern, perhaps as early as next month. The patterns are based on water temperatures of the tropical Pacific Ocean.
The current La Nina weather pattern generally indicates a colder, wetter winter in the Pacific Northwest. El Nino means drier and warmer conditions. Anything goes when the pattern is neutral. However, the PNW is more impacted by conditions that occur in fall and winter, not spring and summer.
“As we go into the summer, it’s a little more up in the air as to whether we’re going to see El Nino or ENSO neutral,” Plunkett said.
Plunkett said that normally the Nina/Nino pattern is much more pronounced in northern and northwestern Washington state and not southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon.
“There is a lot of variability over here in La Nina years,” he said.
