At the end of every month, NOAA updates its Outlook for the following month which in this case is January of 2023. They also issue a Drought Outlook for the following month. We are reporting on that this evening New Year’s Eve.
There have been some significant changes in the Outlook for January and these are addressed in the NOAA Discussion so it is well worth reading. We highlighted some of the important changes within the NOAA Discussion. Of particular interest is the absence of major disruptive factors which were present in December. There has not been much discussion about a potential Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) Event but it has been of concern and that concern now seems to have lessened. The potential for a SSW is no longer in the forecast hence there is minimal cold-air intrusions from the Arctic in the Outlook for January.
The article includes the Drought Outlook for January. We have also included the current fire incidents (not many) and four months of Wildland Fire Potential Outlooks and also a map showing the year-to-date snowpack and precipitation in the West. We also provide the Week 2/3 Tropical Outlook for the World.