This lame Hudson Bay trough...

[Marcus Diaz]

Help me understand this. We all hate it and wish it would go away. Does it develop BECAUSE of the Hudson Bay? Or does it develop due to some hemispherical or global features? What would it take to never have it develop (theoretically speaking).

 

[Andrew Pritchard]

What would it take to never have it develop (theoretically speaking).

I like where you're going with this. Let's pave over the bay!

 

[Marcus Diaz]

Yeah, lets fill the Bay with some dirt or something if that's the problem.

 

[Michael Gavan]

It's ice covered 6 months of the year.... so it basically IS paved for the time that matters. And I think that's the source of the depth of that trough. Our weather in Michigan is in a lot of ways affected by the Hudson. It's not as salty as the rest of the Atlantic, which means it freezes early and stays frozen longer, which shortens the time for it to warm up in summer, sort of in a feedback loop. When the hudson is frozen, the "polar vortex" is no longer moderated by warmer ocean water and it can invade North America. I'm forgetting the term (Pacific High? Alaska High?), but I think what causes that invasion is that pesky north pacific ridge. Old timers have long said of Michigan winters that if people are wearing shorts in Anchorage, we are wearing parkas....And vice versa.

 

[Andy Berrington]

It's ice covered 6 months of the year.... so it basically IS paved for the time that matters. And I think that's the source of the depth of that trough. Our weather in Michigan is in a lot of ways affected by the Hudson. It's not as salty as the rest of the Atlantic, which means in freezes early and stays frozen longer, which shortens the time for it to warm up in summer, sort of in a feedback loop. When the hudson is frozen, the "polar vortex" is no longer moderated by warmer ocean water and it can invade North America. I'm forgetting the term (Pacific High? Alaska High?), but I think what causes that invasion is that pesky north pacific ridge. Old timers have long said of Michigan winters that if people are wearing shorts in Anchorage, we are wearing parkas....And vice versa.

East Pacific Oscillation (EPO). When it is a negative phase, this generally means ridging over Alaska and downstream troughing. This can be exacerbated by a +PNA, which is what has happened in the latter part of this winter.