Meteorologist On What El Nino Means For Uintah Basin

Gillian Harrison, meteorologist with National Weather Service Grand Junction, visited with Matt this week on the air and El Nino and its potential effects on this winter were discussed. El Nino is going on now and it is strengthening, says Harrison. “El Nino is a climate oscillation that starts in the Pacific [Ocean]. In the Pacific when winds become weaker, what happens is sea surface temperatures increase and as a result there’s a shift in flow over the Pacific that allows for more convection, that’s rain and storms, to occur over the central and eastern Pacific Ocean,” she explains. “As a result of this shift in the pattern, weather across the globe can change when this is ongoing. Some places in the US it is more obvious the type of impact El Nino will have,” she continues, “but unfortunately in our area, there’s near equal chances when it comes to temperature and how wet or dry it will be. In particular, the Uintah Basin area falls into the category of near equal chances for either a more wet or dry winter or a more warm or cold winter. It’s tough to say for sure if that will have an impact on us,” concludes Harrison, “but the El Nino is certainly ongoing.”