Frigid 2022? Blame it on La Niña

Tired of cold toes and fingers, Minnesota? You can put the blame squarely on La Niña.

La Niña is the cold water phase of the tropical Pacific Ocean temperature pattern we can the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. (ENSO) These oceanic patterns impact large-scale jet stream patterns in the atmosphere. Here’s a thumbnail sketch from NOAA.

El Niño and La Niña are the warm and cool phases of a recurring climate pattern across the tropical Pacific—the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, or “ENSO” for short. The pattern shifts back and forth irregularly every two to seven years, and each phase triggers predictable disruptions of temperature, precipitation. These changes disrupt the large-scale air movements in the tropics, triggering a cascade of global side effects.

Equatorial Pacific Ocean temperatures are running much colder than average.

Minnesota getting La Niña’s cold shoulder

The La Niña version of ENSO favors a persistent cold northwest jet stream flow across North America.

So far in 2022, La Niña is doing its job a little too well. So far this year we’re running nearly 5 degrees colder than average in the Twin Cities. Take a look at the 2022 monthly temperature departures for the Twin Cities courtesy of this tweet from the Twin Cities NWS Office.

Cruel April

"April is the cruelest month,” - T.S. Eliot.

April can be a good tonic for the winter-weary Minnesota weather soul. But it can also be the cruelest month as T.S. Eliot so accurately wrote.

April 2022 has been beyond cruel across our state. Check out the monthly temperature departure from average. Temperatures are running a full 10 degrees colder than average across northwest Minnesota this month.

Hang in there, Minnesota.