La Niña, which contributed to extreme weather around the globe during the first half of 2011, has re-emerged in the tropical Pacific Ocean and is forecast to gradually strengthen and continue into winter. Today, forecasters with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center upgraded last month’s La Niña Watch to a La Niña Advisory.
The blistering heat experienced by the nation during August, as well as the June through August months, marks the second warmest summer on record according to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in Asheville, N.C. The persistent heat, combined with below-average precipitation across the southern U.S. during August and the three summer months, continued a record-breaking drought across the region.
NOAA’s Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) plans to launch weather balloons carrying small instruments that collect and transmit wind speed, wind direction, temperature, and relative humidity data Sept. 12-20 from the Duke Energy Ocotillo Wind Farm located near Forsan, Texas.
