West Virginia's Normal Precipitation compared to an El Niño Year for January through March
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As seen in the above image, most of West Virginia experiences a 15-30% decrease in total precipitation from January to March during an El Niño year.
West Virginia's Distribution of Precipitation Totals During El Niño Events for January through March
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The graph above is split into the 6 different climate divisions in West Virginia. The graph has 3 bars that depict if the El Niño precipitation was in the wettest third (green), the normal third (black), or driest third (brown). These categories are based on the 102-year climate division records, where each year is ranked from 1 (wettest) to 102(driest).
Looking at the 10 El Niño seasons from 1895-1997, nearly all of the climate divisions in the state received precipitation that ranked in the driest third (70-90% of the years). The lone exception was in the Northeastern Panhandle of West Virginia (Climate Zone 6). This climate zone received normal precipitation in half of the El Niño years and drier conditions in the other half. None of the climate divisions had precipitation totals recording in the wettest third.
West Virginia's Normal Temperatures compared to an El Niño Year for November and December
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As seen in the above image, most of West Virginia experiences a 1.7-2.2°F increase in normal temperature for November and December during an El Niño year.
West Virginia's Distribution of Temperature Totals During El Niño Events for November and December
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The graph above is split into the 6 different climate divisions in West Virginia. The graph has 3 bars that depict if the El Niño temperature was in the coolest third (light blue), the normal third (black), or warmest third (red). These categories are based on the 102-year climate division records, where each year is ranked from 1 (coldest) to 102(warmest).
Looking at the 10 El Niño seasons from 1895-1997, all of the climate divisions in the state received temperatures that ranked in the warmest third in most of the years (70-80% of the years). Each climate division also had an El Niño year that ranked in the coolest and normal third at least one time.
Historically, strong El Niño episodes have featured below normal precipitation (70% to 80% of normal) over West Virginia during January-March. Pre-Winters (November and December) have averaged about two degrees Fahrenheit above normal over the whole state for the strong episodes.
For a more in-depth description, please visit the CPC - El Niño's Impact on West Virginia page.
For general information on El Niño and La Niña, visit our information page or NOAA's Climate Prediction Center's FAQ
The El Niño temperature and precipitation images on this page are courtesy of NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.
