Publish Date: October 15, 2014
Article Source: The Star-Ledger
Article Link: www.aer.com/news-events/in-the-news/2014/another-brutal-nj-winter-scientists-look-siberian-snow-answers
Another brutal N.J. winter? Scientists look to Siberian snow for answers
With winter fast-approaching, scientists are turning their attention to the snow-covered tundra of Siberia and the waters of the Pacific Ocean for their first hints of what Mother Nature may have in store for the United States, and in turn, New Jersey, for the months ahead.
The prediction? A significant amount of climatological evidence points to New Jersey once again enduring a stormy and cold winter. Accuweather, first out of the gate with a winter forecast today, predicted as much, arguing that while it won’t be as brutally cold as the winter of 2013-2014, below average temperatures and plenty of storminess are in the offing for the northeast.
Judah Cohen, director of seasonal forecasting at Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER), a division of Verisk Climate, has long studied the correlation between Siberian snow cover and Arctic Oscillation, a pattern of pressure shifts in the mid-to-upper latitudes that helps dictate much of the weather in the northern hemisphere.