Sioux Falls, SD — Unlike the old Christmas tune, the weather outside has been anything but frightful lately. We did have a bunch of snow not too long ago, but temperature-wise, we’ve been above average.
According to National Weather Service Warning Coordination Meteorologist Todd Heitkamp at the Sioux Falls office — both the snow and the warm temps can be attributed to one thing.
The National Weather Service says El Niño means “The Little Boy”, or “Christ Child” in Spanish. El Niño is unusually warm surface water in the Pacific Ocean. The name was chosen based on the time of year during which these warm waters events tended to occur — around Christmas. The effects of El Niño vary, based on geography and atmospheric conditions, but experts say during an El Niño, we can normally expect warmer-than-normal winter temperatures in our area. Sometimes we get more precipitation, sometimes less.
Heitkamp says it will be a little colder this weekend.
He says we’ve also got some precip on the way.
Heitkamp says we can expect warmer-than-normal conditions for the near future.
Click here for the latest weather forecast, or stay tuned to KIWA Radio.
