After a dry summer, wet weather spread across much of Australia after mid-February and consolidates in the East in March. Anomalous heat continues across the drought area across Southern Australia.

The U.S. weather pattern shifts to problematic with a large array of hazards focused on the western half of the U.S. Featured are widespread wind and snow advisories/watch/warnings including a Red Flag Warning across much of the western Great Plains. Widespread dense fog stretches from Dallas to Cleveland. An offshore storm brings high wind near the Northeast U.S. Corridor.

The Madden Julian oscillation (MJO) has been active and a key contributor to climate patterns of the past several months. The MJO trend continues through mid-to-late February. Models indicate a strengthening phase_3 (East Indian Ocean/West Maritime Continent) over the next 10 days shifting east to phase_4 (Eastern Maritime Continent) in the 11-15-day period.

The 06Z GFS 11-15-day forecast returned a wintery look featuring deep arctic air across West and South Canada seeping into the Great Plains and Northeast U.S. The outlook raised the HDD forecast for the week ending February 26th to 194 HDD, up 21 HDD from the previous outlook.