Observed Weather:
It is clear winter 2013/14 is well on track to verify as the coldest in 2 decades.
The final week of January will be even colder than its frigid start.
We have strong signals February will be at least moderately cold. February will also manifest a much stormier winter pattern coast to coast.
Melita Forecast:
This extreme cold winter scenario was the consistent long range forecast provided by Melita Weather Associates (MWA) since late summer 2013.
NWS Forecast:
In contrast all other known weather providers reiterated seasonal to warm winter forecasts well into November before changing to progressively colder outlooks.
Analysis:
One result of this colder than expected weather in the major population centers of the Eastern US has been the advance of commodities such as natural gas to levels unseen since 2010. While commodities forecasting is not our specialty, it is expected that continued cold weather will lead to a condition of lower natural gas volumes in storage as we move into the Summer cooling season. Clients of Melita Weather Associates have had this information months ahead of traders relying on traditional weather sources.
MWA atmospheric scientists have never missed a fundamental forecast regarding El Niño or La Niña development in 20 years of providing forecast services to the energy sector.
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September 18 - Long Range Summary
One final surge of cold Canadian air of the extended September series draining into the Midwest (7°-10° below average) this past weekend ensures a cool and wet 1st half of the week across the Northeast. However, at the same time colder and wetter pattern change starting in the West is certain to shift summer-like heat out of the Pacific Northwest (mid 80s-mid 90s) eastward in a modifying (weakening) form; warming Midwestern temperatures near 80° by midweek, and the Northeast to the mid 70s by the end of the workweek. Similar level modest warmth (3°-6° above average) is forecast to return to the central and southern Plains early this week (low-mid 90s in most of Texas). Meanwhile slightly below average temperatures in most of the Southeast to mid Atlantic region this week appear slowest to recover near seasonal levels (low-mid 80s)late in the 6-10 day period. Precipitation is far less certain amongst models and from run to run of the same model but longer range forecasts maintain relatively mild temperatures east of the Rockies into mid October, and even the cooler West recovers to seasonal temperatures starting late next weekend (Sep 24). At this point there is no substantially cold air in sight building across North America suggesting temperatures across most of the U.S. will remain slightly – moderately above average through most if not all of the latter half of fall.
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