• After witnessing the continued decrease of involvement in the SpotterNetwork staff in serving SN members with troubleshooting issues recently, I have unilaterally decided to terminate the relationship between SpotterNetwork's support and Stormtrack. I have witnessed multiple users unable to receive support weeks after initiating help threads on the forum. I find this lack of response from SpotterNetwork officials disappointing and a failure to hold up their end of the agreement that was made years ago, before I took over management of this site. In my opinion, having Stormtrack users sit and wait for so long to receive help on SpotterNetwork issues on the Stormtrack forums reflects poorly not only on SpotterNetwork, but on Stormtrack and (by association) me as well. Since the issue has not been satisfactorily addressed, I no longer wish for the Stormtrack forum to be associated with SpotterNetwork.

    I apologize to those who continue to have issues with the service and continue to see their issues left unaddressed. Please understand that the connection between ST and SN was put in place long before I had any say over it. But now that I am the "captain of this ship," it is within my right (nay, duty) to make adjustments as I see necessary. Ending this relationship is such an adjustment.

    For those who continue to need help, I recommend navigating a web browswer to SpotterNetwork's About page, and seeking the individuals listed on that page for all further inquiries about SpotterNetwork.

    From this moment forward, the SpotterNetwork sub-forum has been hidden/deleted and there will be no assurance that any SpotterNetwork issues brought up in any of Stormtrack's other sub-forums will be addressed. Do not rely on Stormtrack for help with SpotterNetwork issues.

    Sincerely, Jeff D.

Current La Nina event may continue into Spring 2012

Mark Blue

Former owner (RIP)
Joined
Feb 19, 2007
Messages
3,158
Location
Colorado
I subscribe to Weather Bell Analytics and have for several months now. One thing that both Joe Bastardi and Joseph D'Aleo keep posting about is the similarity between the current La Nina event and what took place in 2008 and 1973-1975. If my memory serves me correctly 1974 was when the super outbreak occurred and 2008 was a prolific tornado year as well. They haven't gone so far as to say what I just mentioned, but the fact that they keep hammering on this information gives me plenty of hope for the 2012 severe storm season. Only time will tell, but I like what I am reading there and they haven't deviated from their point of view in several months. I realize there are many other variables to consider when it comes to global climatology and how a severe storm season plays out, but thought it was an interesting tidbit worth sharing.
 
Back when I was subscribing to the paper version of StormTrack in the late 90s, I worked with data on El Nino and severe storms to see if there were any correlations and physical causes. And yes, the cold phase does increase the frequency of strong and violent twisters in some regions, specifically the mid-South and secondarily the Southern Low Plains.

And while one US region may have more significant storms, others have less. That's why the influence (up to 20 percent or so, which is actually a lot) gets washed out: people look at the lower 48 in total. Historically, people got frustrated when claims were exaggerated and no physical explanation was presented. The physical causes in short are bumped-around weather systems with changes that include an enhanced and displaced jet stream, and likely a stout, but breakable cap, as opposed to a weaker or unbreakable one.
 
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