El Niño and Washington DC-Baltimore Winters

El Niño, which is a climate phenomenon characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean, influences the winter weather across the United States. Looking back at past winters since 1950, approximately 18 winters were influenced by an El Niño episode.

The figures below are composites of average December, January and February (DJF) temperatures and precipitation, as well as seasonal snowfall at Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. During El Niño years (independent of strength of episode), both DJF temperatures and precipitation averaged near normal while seasonal snowfall averaged above normal.

These composites are further broken down by the strength (weak, moderate and strong) of the El Niño episode. Based on the small dataset, there appears to be some historical correlation between the strength of the warming in the equatorial Pacific Ocean (i.e., El Niño episode) and seasonal temperatures, precipitation, and snowfall locally at Washington D.C. and Baltimore. Weak El Niño winters averaged below normal temperatures and precipitation, while strong El Niño episodes averaged above normal temperatures and precipitation. On average, the stronger the El Niño episode, the warmer and wetter the winters have been. These findings can partly be linked to a stronger than normal sub-tropical jet that typically occurs during moderate to strong El Niño winters, which would favor more active storm systems from the south that draw warm, moist air northward as opposed to the drier Alberta clippers from the northwest. Seasonal snowfall averaged above normal for weak, moderate and strong El Niño episodes.

Not all El Niño winters are alike as many other shorter [e.g., North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Pacific-North American Pattern(PNA)] and longer term climate patterns influence the local weather. For example, the strong El Niño episode during the recent 2009-10 winter was associated with record-breaking seasonal snowfall in the mid-Atlantic region. Although it might seem (based on the 2009-10 winter) that all strong El Niño winters in Washington D.C. and Baltimore are linked to above normal snowfall; these atmospheric quantities have been variable each winter. Of the six strong El Niño winters since 1950, three have been associated with well above normal snowfall while snowfall was virtually absent in the other three winters.