Climate Jargon: 4 Terms to Help You Understand the Weather

Your chance of getting a weather warning depends on your location and accessibility to the news. To make sure your home, especially your St. Paul roofing, is prepared for any weather condition, you have to understand weather forecasts.

Here are four basic terms to add to your weather term bank:

1. Alberta clipper

During the winter months, this storm system originates from Alberta, a province in Canada, or nearby areas like Manitoba, Montana, and Saskatchewan. It’s also sometimes called the Saskatchewan screamer.

This low-pressure system moves rapidly southeast of Alberta through the Midwest, the Great Lakes region, and the northern plains. Cold temperatures, strong winds, and light snow usually accompany it.

2. Bermuda high

A Bermuda high is a high-pressure area that is generally focused in the Bermuda area in summer and spring. During winter and the early parts of spring, it’s usually centered in the eastern portion of the North Atlantic, which is the reason it is also called Azores high.

The movement to the east and west results in weather fluctuation. When it moves westward, the direction of our winds is south or southeast, bringing plenty of moisture and tropical air mass. The heat from the land and the friction of the land cause condensation, which often leads to rain showers and thunderstorms.

3. El Niño

In Spanish, the term means “the little boy” or “Christ child.” It refers to a wide-scale atmospheric climate interaction linked to the sporadic warming of the sea’s surface temperature in the central and east-central Equatorial Pacific.

El Niño was first discovered in the 1600s when a group of fishermen in the South American coast noticed the emergence of unusually warm water in the Pacific Ocean. Its name was selected based on the time of the year when the odd occurrence of warm waters is likely to happen.

4. La Niña

This weather condition is sometimes called “a cold event,” El Viejo, or “anti-El Niño.” La Niña means “the little girl” in Spanish.

During this time, the southeast region experiences warmer-than-usual winter temperatures, while the northwest region experiences cooler-than-normal conditions. This weather system features below-average sea surface temperatures in the east-central Equatorial Pacific.

Prepare your home before any of these weather conditions occur. Make sure your roofing system can withstand the elements. Give us at Krech Exteriors a call at (651) 968-8888, and a professional roofer in St. Paul will be happy to assist you.