Dead Blob

Several people have asked me about the "BLOB"--the area of very warm water over the NE Pacific Ocean that has plagued our region for roughly two years.

The short answer:  the  BLOB is DEAD.  Sorry for putting it bluntly, but it is better that way.

Here is the sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly (the difference from normal).  Red is considerably warmer than normal.  Lots of red offshore of the West Coast (the BLOB).  Also much warmer than normal SSTs along the equator over the Pacific (that is associated with El Nino).

 Compare that with the SST anomaly yesterday.  Major cooling over the NE Pacific.  The BLOB is gone.   But El Nino is still going strong.

Why is the BLOB dead?   Because the mother of the BLOB--an area of persistent high pressure over the NE Pacific--is gone.  The high pressure was associated with light winds, which did not produce the normal mixing in the upper layers of the ocean.   Plenty of mixing this year, which brings up cooler water from below.

So be sad for the BLOB, but be happy for our local ski areas.