MJO
NOAA has released an article talking about one of the causes of the recent weather patterns. The MJO, or Madden-Julian Oscillation, is the culprit behind the extreme rain and warm weather we have seen on the West Coast recently. Not being a weather expert, I am not sure exactly what this means...
They don't seem to have an answer for what causes it, however it is prevalent during El Nino years. Whether we will see more of MJO this years remains to be seen. And whether we will actually see snow this year also remains to be seen, although I am slowly starting come to the realization that the winter could be over for Washington State...