I just saw this comparison of the winters since 2007-8 vs those of the prior decade (see images below), which confirms how strong the dominating SER has been on average since 2007-8 along with how much colder it has been in the Midwest and Rockies. This even includes the cold 2009-10 and 2010-11 and still the SER has easily dominated. The 2007-8+ map looks to me like it has been dominated by a La Ninaish pattern. Well, per ONI, there have been 6 La Niña, 4 El Niño, and 2 neutral though that doesn’t really scream Nina:
https://origin.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/ensostuff/ONI_v5.php
Will 2019-20 be similar? I don’t think so and still don’t think the SER will be nearly as strong as last winter. The biggest hope for me is that we eek out a weak El Niño and at least get a near normal winter rather than a torch. The last 90 days of SOI say that’s quite possible:
https://www.longpaddock.qld.gov.au/soi/
Of course, some might say that last winter was a weak El Niño and look at what we got and also that we’ve got a warmer globe and especially warmer Arctic the last few years. Fair enough but 2018-9 was by a pretty wide margin the warmest weak El Niño on record in the SE. Also, we have the wild card of the weakest solar minimum in perhaps 200 years ongoing.
The prior 10 winters’ average look like El Niño type pattern domination with warmer north vs cooler south. But per ONI, there were 4 La Niña to go along with the 4 La Niña meaning balanced.
Winters since 2007-8: SER dominated/La Niña look
View attachment 26433
Prior 10 winters: warm Midwest/Rockies and no dominating SER/El Niño look
View attachment 26434