Five times the normal amount of snow.
“In North America, September (2014) was the snowiest on record dating to the late 1960s,” says The Washington Post. “And in Siberia, the snow is going gangbusters so far this October. Some scientists suggest all of this snow so early in the year may be a harbinger of a rough winter for the U.S. and Europe.”
Judah Cohen, director of seasonal forecasting at Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER), a unit of Verisk Climate, believes the North American snow tilts the odds towards a cold winter. “I would consider it at least a cold bias for this upcoming winter,” he said. “I remember that North American snow cover extent got off to a fast start in 2000 and that did portend a cold winter.”
Snow fell early in North America, including in places that rarely see it in September.
Related links on iceagenow.info:
“Freak September snowstorm” – Major power outages in Calgary
Calgary’s summer snowstorm cleanup could take weeks
Nobody alive today saw snow this early in Rapid City, SD
Record early snowfall blankets parts of Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana and Colorado
New-All time Record!! North America Sept Snow Cover Highest Ever in 45 years of Data
September snow cover in North America was most extensive on record.
(Rutgers University Global Snow Laboratory)
Studies show that when Siberian snow cover extent is prosperous and increases rapidly in October, it provides a strong signal that a weather pattern known as the Arctic Oscillation (AO) will tend towards its negative phase during the winter months (December through March).
When the AO is negative, frigid air spills south from the Arctic and temperatures are usually colder than average over eastern North America and western Europe.
Five times the normal amount of snow
“[Siberian] snow cover has really picked up, it has rapidly advanced over the last week,” Cohen said. “It’s ahead of anything since at least [the year] 2000.”
“Normally on this date there is about 1 million squared kilometers of snow cover south of 60°N across Eurasia and instead this year there is 5 million,” Cohen added
However, Cohen cautions this forecast could bust.
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-14/new-york-gets-frigid-winter-warning-from-siberia-snowfall.html
Thanks to Jason Cragg and Caroline Snyder in West Virginia for this link
Related Washington Post links:
Heavy, early-season snow in Calgary causes power outages, dangerous roadsRapid City sees earliest snowfall on record as winter weather plunges into U.S.
Record cold and snow blast Rockies, with over a week left in summer