News
01/12/2026, 9:09 am EST

Pacific Kelvin Wave Shifting Eastward and Strengthening

An impressive looking Kelvin Wave has moved east of the Dateline and has strengthened. Cool waters remain in the subsurface off the northwest coast of South America fueling La Nina cool signatures in the Nino SSTA regions.
01/11/2026, 11:54 am EST

MJO East Shift Brings Wetter Bias to South America Last 1/3 of Month

The convection phase of the Madden Julian oscillation (MJO) is moderately strong near the Dateline. Forecasts indicate an eastward shift toward the longitude of the Americas in the extended range. While the current (phase_6) of MJO favors a drier than normal climate for most of Argentina/Brazil, the shift into phase_7 favors broadly wetter than normal climate. Consequently, wetter 8-14/11-15-day (model) forecasts are favored. The wetter bias should last into the 16-20-day timeframe.
01/11/2026, 9:07 am EST

U.S. HDD Forecasts Have Been Too Cold

U.S. gas population weight HDD forecasts through 6 weeks from late December correctly identified the warmer early-to-middle January warmer trend although not as warm as observed. Today’s projection for the current week is MUCH warmer than forecast in late December and possibly the largest reason for natural gas price collapse late last week. Projections for week-4 are near the 30-year normal, somewhat less cold than both CFS/ECM and AI indicated from 2 weeks ago.