Nasa just announced two new pages monitoring sea temperatures and the el Nino/laNina effect. As any northeastern weather fan knows, el Nino has a major effect on the severity of our winters in that when it is in place in the Pacific we tend to have milder winters.
The surface temperature of the tropical oceans is a key factor in the development of hurricanes which gain power as surface temps rise. Since many climatologists believe that rising ocean temperatures will drive the trend toward larger and more powerful hurricanes, having this tool can give us nonscientific types a means of forming our own opinions regarding weather and warming.
FYI, Buffalo got two feet of snow yesterday, an October record. Here in Rochester, 60 miles away, it’s sunny, green and cool- no snow at all.