Cycles Again

Like a scene from STAR WARS, there was a disturbance in the Force this weekend. In the midst of the much reported and tweeted Mid-Atlantic Heat Wave, a huge Derecho caused widespread power outages across several eastern states taking down internet servers, which in turn made several internet services unavailable for several hours.

Instagram the popular photo sharing site, Pinterest, and mighty Netflix all were down for several hours. Now I don't use any of these sights directly, but I did notice the absence of Instagram when several "TwitPics" wouldn't display on Twitter.

Saturday afternoon I saw @ExJon tweet:
"El Niños & Derechos are doing the damage American storms won't do."

Though snarky like I like it, the tweet made me wonder what the state of ENSO was, as I haven't kept track since my ski season ended way back in February. I went to the Climate Prediction Center's 90 Day Outlook Discussion, and waddya know? A weak El Niño is trying to build in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific. Curiously, the Central Pacific is still trending cold like a La Niña...a yin and yang thing I don't remember seeing before.

The Outlook Discussion's High Points:

THE OUTLOOK FOR July/August/Sept 2012 TEMPERATURE INDICATES ENHANCED ODDS FOR ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES FOR MUCH OF THE CONTINENTAL U.S., EXCEPT FOR PARTS OF THE NORTHEAST, THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS, AND ALONG MUCH OF THE WEST COAST.  ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES ARE FAVORED IN NORTHERN ALASKA, WITH THE CHANCES OF BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES ENHANCED IN COASTAL REGIONS OF SOUTHWESTERN AND SOUTHERN ALASKA.

THE PRECIPITATION OUTLOOK FOR July/August/Sept 2012 SHOWS AN ENHANCED LIKELIHOOD FOR BELOW-MEDIAN TOTAL SEASONAL PRECIPITATION FOR PARTS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND NORTHERN ROCKIES.  ABOVE MEDIAN PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS ARE FAVORED FOR FLORIDA AND PARTS OF ADJACENT STATES.

Alas, it looks likely that the Central Rockies are in for a "Long Hot Summer" while Florida floods...steady as she goes, I guess...