Winter Weather Summary

While the official start of spring is still a couple weeks away, mother nature kicked Old Man Winter out of Southwest Florida a while ago...or perhaps she never let him in.

December 2011 through February 2012 averaged 2 degrees warmer than normal. This winter stands in contrast to the previous two, which were colder than average. Why the warmth you may ask? Two natural cycles: La Nina and a positive phase of the North American Oscillation. In short, this pattern means the jet stream is located far to the north over the Great Lakes and Northeast, allowing high pressure to situate itself over the Southeast, causing warm east and southeast wind to blow across SW FL.

After a very dry December and January, February brought us much-needed rainfall but did little to help the deficit; overall winter rainfall averaged 2 to 4 inches below normal.

So what can we expect for March, April & May? According to the Climate Prediction Center, more of the same--above average temperatures and below average rainfall.

-Katie