As expected, for us in the Southeast, rainfall this winter has been abundant for most of the winter due to the effects of the current strong El Nino (maybe a little too abundant for some farmers). But how does the amount of rainfall we got compare to what we usually get in El Nino winters? NOAA’s latest Climate blog provides a look at the similarities and differences between the average pattern we expect and what we actually got this year. Overall, I’d say the pattern looks reasonably close, even though some areas did not get what they expected. You can read more at https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/enso/how-much-did-el-nino-influence-precipitation-over-united-states-past, including a measure of how well past El Ninos matched that pattern using pattern correlation techniques.
