By Clint Thompson
January’s cold weather goes against what is normally expected during a La Niña weather pattern. The pattern usually brings warmer and drier conditions during winter months.
But this month’s weather has been extremely cold, highlighted by a historic snow event during the week of Jan. 22.
Pam Knox, University of Georgia (UGA) Extension agricultural climatologist, discussed this year’s abnormal La Niña.
“All the El Niño and La Niña forecasts are based on probabilities. Even if most La Niñas are 8 out of 10 are warmer and drier than usual, there’s still 2 out of 10 chance that it’s not going to be, and I think we’re in one of those years,” Knox said. “If you look at precipitation, we are drier than usual. From the standpoint of moisture, I think it was a beneficial (winter) storm that’s brought some moisture that we’re probably going to need going into the growing season.”
Knox noted in her UGA Extension Climate Blog that the current La Niña is weak and will only last a few months before a return to neutral conditions. More outbursts of cold air may occur again in the next couple of months, though February is shaping up to be a warm month.
“The winter is not over yet. We’ve still got half the winter to go,” Knox said. “The early signs are that February will be quite a bit warmer than what we’ve been seeing. I don’t know that it’s going to be warm enough to overcome this cold weather.”