NOAA Says El Niño Going Strong As Parade Of Storms Is Set To Hit Colorado
By Chris Spears
DENVER (CBS4) - In their monthly update issued on Thursday NOAA's Climate Prediction Center said a strong episode of El Niño continues across the central and eastern equatorial waters of the Pacific Ocean.
But the report states that over the past 30 days there was a slight weakening of El Niño indicators, including the subsurface temperatures of the ocean.
That trend is expected to continue into the months ahead as El Niño gradually weakens.
But that doesn't mean the threat for heavy rain and snow is over.
Some of the most active months for stormy weather may still lie ahead as winter draws to an end and spring weather patterns begin to take shape.
So far it's been a season with cycles of storms followed by periods of calm weather in between.
That trend will continue as Colorado enters a stormy period over the next week.
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As is typical of a strong El Niño event, long-range forecasts continue to indicate wetter-than-normal conditions for the southern tier of the United States.
That means Colorado will remain right on the edge of an active storm track heading into spring.
Watch the latest forecast from Colorado's Weather Center:
Meteorologist Chris Spears writes about stories related to weather and climate in Colorado. Check out his bio, connect with him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @ChrisCBS4.