Noctilucent clouds are the highest clouds on Earth and are quite rarely seen in the US as they are primarily visible at high latitudes above 55°N. For the past several weeks, however, they have been seen much more often than normal around the world and at unusually low latitudes. Two possible explanations for the on-going extraordinary viewing season revolve around the current (low) activity on the sun and the high water vapor levels way up in the atmosphere. Specifically, noctilucent clouds tend to be more prevalent during solar minimums and we are now entering what may be the deepest solar minimum in more than a century. In addition, unusually high levels of water vapor have been detected in the mesosphere creating favorable conditions for the formation of noctilucent clouds.
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The sun continues to be very quiet and it has been without sunspots this year 62% of the time as we approach what is likely to be one of the deepest solar minimums in a long, long time. In fact, all indications are that the upcoming solar minimum may be even quieter than the last one which was the deepest in nearly a century. In addition, there are now forecasts that the next solar cycle, #25, will be the weakest in more than 200 years. The current solar cycle, #24, has been the weakest with the fewest sunspots since solar cycle 14 peaked in February 1906. Solar cycle 24 continues a recent trend of weakening solar cycles which began with solar cycle 21 that peaked around 1980 and if the latest forecasts are correct, that trend will continue for at least another decade or so.
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Noctilucent clouds are the highest clouds on Earth and are quite rarely seen in the US as they are primarily visible at high latitudes above +55°N. This weekend, however, noctilucent clouds were seen across many spots in the US including as far south as Freedom, Oklahoma (+36°N) which according to spaceweather.com, may be the lowest latitude sighting ever. Research studies have shown that these clouds tend to become more prevalent during solar minimums and we are now entering into what is likely to be a deep and perhaps historic solar minimum.
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According to the latest “US Drought Monitor” report, the long-term drought in California is now “officially” over following the very wet winter season of 2018-2019. For the first time since 2011, the state has no region suffering from prolonged drought and the vast majority of the state California is “normal”. The reservoirs are full, the lakes are full, and there is a ton of snow in the higher elevation locations. In fact, the snow pack in the Sierra Nevada – a major source of California’s water supply – has reached incredible amounts by doubling in the month of January and then doubling again in February and despite the calendar showing mid-May, more significant snow is on the way.
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The sun continues to be very quiet and it has been without sunspots this year more than half the time as we approach what is likely to be a deep solar minimum. In fact, all indications are that the upcoming solar minimum which is expected to begin later this year may be even quieter than the last one which was the deepest in nearly a century. Solar cycle 24 has been the weakest sunspot cycle with the fewest sunspots since cycle 14 peaked in February 1906. Solar cycle 24 continues a recent trend of weakening solar cycles which began with solar cycle 21 that peaked around 1980. The last time the sun was this blank in a given year on a percentage basis was 2009 during the last solar minimum when 71% of the time was spotless. That last solar minimum actually reached a nadir in 2008 when an astounding 73% of the year featured a spotless sun - the most spotless days in a given year since 1913. One of the natural impacts of decreasing solar activity is the weakening of the ambient solar wind and its magnetic field which, in turn, allows more and more cosmic rays to penetrate the solar system. The intensification of cosmic rays can have important consequences on such things as Earth’s cloud cover and climate, the safety of air travelers and as a possible trigger mechanism for lightning.
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The overall numbers are likely to be slightly below-normal this year in terms of the number of tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin (includes the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico) with around 11 named tropical systems, 5 hurricanes and 2 majors. In a normal Atlantic Basin tropical season, there are about 12 named storms with 6 reaching hurricane status and 3 actually reaching major status (i.e., category 3, 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale).
The major factors involved with this year’s tropical outlook include the likely continuation of El Nino in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. In addition, the Atlantic Ocean is sending mixed signals in terms of the prospects for tropical activity this season with some sections featuring (unfavorable) colder-than-normal sea surface temperatures and others featuring (favorable) warmer-than-normal waters. The sea surface temperature pattern in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic Ocean (i.e., warmer-than-normal) makes the southern and eastern US somewhat vulnerable to what I call “home-grown” tropical hits during this upcoming tropical season.
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According to the latest “US Drought Monitor” report, the long-term drought in California is now “officially” over following the very wet winter season of 2018-2019. For the first time since 2011, the state has no region suffering from prolonged drought and the vast majority of the state California is “normal”. The reservoirs are full, the lakes are full, and there is a ton of snow in the higher elevation locations. In fact, the snow pack in the Sierra Nevada – a major source of California’s water supply – has reached incredible amounts by doubling in the month of January and then doubling again in February and more snow is coming this week.
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Four extreme cold air outbreaks in recent history have been analyzed in order to determine if there were similar atmospheric signals in the weeks prior to these events. The four extreme cold air outbreaks examined here include the most recent one that took place across parts of Canada and much of the eastern half of the US during late January 2019 (Figure 1). This analysis shows that there were strikingly similar characteristics in all four of the extreme cold air outbreaks with the roots of each traced to the tropics and to the upper part of the atmosphere known as the stratosphere. In all four cases, a recurring tropical disturbance known as the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) contributed to a major stratospheric warming event which ultimately led to the extreme cold air outbreaks into the middle latitudes.
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As the year winds down, it appears this will be another down year for tornadoes in the US and likely the first one in recorded history without any classified as “violent”. The preliminary tornado count in the US for the year places 2018 in the lowest 25th percentile and this will likely become the first year since modern records began in 1950 with no tornadoes ranked as EF4 or EF5 (i.e., “violent”). The great news here is that the number of tornado-related deaths in the US during 2018 is near record low levels. As far as hurricanes are concerned, the Atlantic Basin tropical season was above-normal for the year, but about half as intense as last year. Unfortunately, the 2018 Atlantic tropical season will be remembered for two deadly and damaging hurricanes – Florence which generated tremendous flooding over the Carolinas and Michael which made landfall in the Florida Panhandle as one of the strongest ever in that part of the country.
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One of the ways to monitor the potential for wintertime Arctic air outbreaks in the central and eastern U.S. is to follow what is happening in the stratosphere over the Northern Hemisphere. Sudden Stratospheric Warmings (SSWs) are large, rapid temperature rises in the winter polar stratosphere, occurring primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, and these events have been found to set off a chain of events in the atmosphere that ultimately can lead to polar vortex disruptions and Arctic air outbreaks for the central and eastern US. Indeed, there is a significant stratospheric warming event now unfolding and it raises the chances for more frigid weather during the middle and latter stages of January.
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