Do not know where that strong warming came from in the South Central Pacific, but basically what happened last winter down there is that the oceans cooled dramatically by the end of the winter. After two big cold spots developed, in the east and west, the hot spot later formed right between them. The cold spots however have remained during the summer time down there and the sun only moderated them slightly. We will now see ocean temps in the upper areas of the Northern Hemisphere cool dramatically, if they follow what happened in the South. Just look at what happened in Scandinavian waters. The US and UK are almost completely surrounded by colder then normal water now. That is ahead of schedule. Was expecting that by the end of winter. So the cooling is accelerating. February will kick everyones but north of the equator.
BTW - All NOAA data is suspect now and they never will gain back trust from me. That is lost forever. But hey, I am just a hairy ape.
For what it’s worth: the storms of 1/21-1/22 deposited snow on Mount Diablo (east SF Bay Area, Contra Costa County), elevation 3,849. Saw the snow this afternoon from Walnut Creek.
I agree with you there but I trust their lower 48 numbers more than I trust any global numbers.