Cold Atlantic 'blob'

The12thMan

At first glance, it stands out like a sore thumb. That blob of blue and purple on the map. One of the only places on the globe that is abnormally cold in a year that will likely shatter records as the warmest globally.

It's being called the Atlantic "blob." It's a large area in the North Atlantic that is seeing a pronounced cooling trend. The ocean surface is much cooler than normal and in fact record cold in some locations.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/30/weather/atlantic-cold-blob/index.html

could it mean a very cold winter?

Gonzo

it was enough to ruin Summer 2015 across most of Ireland so there could be a rise in atlantic based wintry spells this winter.

maquiladora

Gonzo wrote: »

it was enough to ruin Summer 2015 across most of Ireland so there could be a rise in atlantic based wintry spells this winter.

Not sure if it was anything to do with the weather we had here in the summer. It's certainly not ruining this lovely late September we're having.

Hooter23

Some forcasters said that the cold pool of water is now moving south towards spain and that the waters near iceland are warmer and that this promotes the building of high pressure around iceland which will drag cold east/north east winds toward the uk and ireland...

We shall see i suppose..

Oneiric 3

Hooter23 wrote: »

Some forcasters said that the cold pool of water is now moving south towards spain and that the waters near iceland are warmer and that this promotes the building of high pressure around iceland which will drag cold east/north east winds toward the uk and ireland...

We shall see i suppose..

Anomalies are different to actual temps and don't tell the full story. Even if the 'cold pool' sets up around Spain, the actual sea temps will still be warmer there than around Iceland.

Current sea surface temps:
http://ghrsst-pp.metoffice.com/data/OSTIA/latest_full.png

Cantona's Collars

gally74

Hooter23 wrote: »

Some forcasters said that the cold pool of water is now moving south towards spain and that the waters near iceland are warmer and that this promotes the building of high pressure around iceland which will drag cold east/north east winds toward the uk and ireland...

We shall see i suppose..

The best word I ever saw on boards

Snowmageddon

Alexis Sanchez

Just looking at Weather Underground and I decided to explore the WunderMap: http://www.wunderground.com/wundermap/?lat=28.0&lon=-68.9&zoom=6&rad=0&wxsn=0&svr=0&cams=0&sat=0&riv=0&mm=0&hur=1&hur.wr=0&hur.cod=1&hur.fx=1&hur.obs=1&fire=0&ft=0&sl=0

It's great feature. You can see the sea surface temperatures and the cold pool to the southwest of us.

Oneiric 3

Interesting explanation of the blob

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/34489981?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbc_weather&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=news_central

Due in part to natural ocean cycles such as the AMO.

A quick look at some stats here suggests that when the AMO is in a more negative phase, winter storms in Ireland, when they do occur, tend to be more fierce. 70's, 80's and early 90s for example.

sryanbruen

Hooter23 wrote: »

Some forcasters said that the cold pool of water is now moving south towards spain and that the waters near iceland are warmer and that this promotes the building of high pressure around iceland which will drag cold east/north east winds toward the uk and ireland...

We shall see i suppose..

which is what we're getting exactly now

Oneiric 3

SST anomaly comparison with yesterday and the same day last year:



After what seemed be a 'lessening' of the Atlantic cold blob over the last couple of months, it appears to be showing a slight increase in size again over the last week or so. One marked difference between this year and last is the relatively cooler waters in Labrador sea this time around.

sryanbruen

This so-called 'blob' looks like it could get even colder by Friday with temperatures of only 6-9c in places compared to what we've been getting used to - even colder than this Friday gone.