Neutral. Not exactly a word that sends chills up the spine, or adrenaline through the veins – unless you’re a weather geek and you know that when you hear the words “neutral” and “winter outlook” in the same sentence, it’s time to hang onto your hat and keep the chainsaw handy.
The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Seattle has gazed into its computerized crystal ball and predicts a neutral winter. But here’s where labels get confusing. At first glance, neutral seems like it should be interchangeable with “average” or even “mild.” But neutral isn’t a measure of the intensity of the winter ahead. Rather, neutral just means the big picture weather pattern isn’t El Niño and La Niña, the better-known rock star twins of our Northwest climate.
All three – neutral, El Niño and La Niña – refer to the temperature of the Pacific Ocean. Warm ocean temperatures cause an El Niño pattern, and cold temperatures lead to a La Niña pattern. The weather in El Niño years tends to be a little easier here, and in La Niña years a little rougher. When the ocean is neither colder nor warmer than average, the pattern is called neutral. That may sound pretty dull, but a neutral year can bring slam-bang weather in a big way.
Do you remember the Arctic Express of December 1990, and its snow, wind and bone-chilling cold? Or, the Thanksgiving weekend storm that same year that sent the I-90 Mercer Island floating bridge to the bottom of Lake Washington? How about 1979, when the Hood Canal Bridge turned turtle in 100 mile per hour winds? Or, the deadly Columbus Day storm of 1962? All neutral years, if in name only.
This neutral winter will bring its share, and maybe more, of windy, wet, snowy, cold and all-around nasty weather. My advice? Forget the ho-hum label and get yourself and your family ready. That’s what the professionals are doing.
After the big December 2006 storm, Puget Sound Energy looked at how we could improve. Now, we have twice the number of storm damage assessors trained to track down outages and get repairs going quickly. Communication is better, too, with more people ready to take your calls (at 1-888-225-5773) and answer your questions, and a map at PSE.com that will give outage restoration times down to your zip code during severe storms, after we’ve had a chance to get out and assess the damage.
Our crews were busy, too, replacing 800 power poles as part of $247 million worth of total system upgrades in 2008. That’s close to the number – 770 – we had to replace during our restoration efforts after the December 2006 Hanukkah Eve Windstorm.
Teamwork is crucial, as well, and we’re working closely with local and state emergency management and transportation officials and the NWS. Our goal is to know what’s coming, and be ready for Mr. Neutral when he comes knocking.
If you’re ready for storm season, great. If not, stop by PSE.com to learn more about preparing for winter. Meantime, neutral needs some creative marketing. How about jazzing it up to “The Neutralizer?” That might just paint a more accurate picture of what’s to come, and send a more urgent signal to get ready now.
