La Niña-Like Winters Here To Stay?...01/20/00

By George Lewis - NBS LOS ANGELES, — As the Midwest freezes under the grip of a winter storm, NASA scientists are saying a major climate change may be under way, one that could affect weather worldwide for the next 20 to 30 years.

CRANK UP the winter misery index in places like Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. A major winter storm is sweeping through the Midwest and headed east. By contrast, Tucson, Ariz., is recording temperatures in the 80s this week. On Wednesday, government scientists said there could be more of these kinds of extremes in coming years. NASA’s Topex/Poseidon satellite is picking up a fundamental shift in temperatures in the western part of the Pacific Ocean. “We see a horseshoe of very, very high sea level and warm water,” said Bill Patzert, a NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory oceanographer who studies the phenomenon. Furthermore, cold water is lingering near the West Coast of the United States, very similar to last year’s La Niña conditions. But this new temperature shift could go on for years.