Tracking a Winter Storm; Unusual Early-Season Heat Wave in the Southwest

A major winter storm will organize across the Northern Plains today and then rapidly strengthen as it moves into the Great Lakes on Sunday. Heavy snow and blowing snow are likely to persist over the Great Lakes into Monday night. Dry and gusty winds will produce a critical fire risk across the central/southern Plains. An early heatwave will begin to intensify over the western U.S. into next week. Read More >

Central Valley

December-January-February Precipitation

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In the Rio Grande Valley, DJF precipitation is reduced during La Niña events, with the southern station, Socorro, averaging 65% of the long term average while Albuquerque averages 88% of normal. The impact is greater during strong La Niña events, with below average precipitation during all six events, and only 39% of the average precipitation at Socorro.

A description of the graphs is located at the bottom of the page.

winter precip for albuquerque during la nina events

Percent of Longterm Average for all La Niña Events = 88% , for strong La Niña Events = 71%

winter precip for socorro during la nina events

Percent of Longterm Average for all La Niña Events = 65% , for strong La Niña Events = 36%

Precipitation values for 3-month periods during 19 La Niña Events since 1949-50 are plotted with respect to the long term precipitation average, listed to the right of the graph. The precipitation totals for each 3-month period are plotted above or below each bar. Years for which the La Niña Event was considered to be strong are colored in purple. "M" represents a 3-month period with missing data. Finally, the percents of longterm normal for all La Niña events and for the strong La Niña events are listed below each graph.

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Tracking a Winter Storm; Unusual Early-Season Heat Wave in the Southwest

NWS ABQ La Nina Winter Precipitation CD5