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ATHENS - Heating demand has jumped during the current winter. In Athens, demand was 20% above normal. WNEG's Amelia Hines spoke to a state climatologist about why this winter has been so cold and as a result, very expensive.
Pam Knox is the assistant state climatologist in Georgia. Knox says there's only one reason for Georgia's unusually wet and cold winter.
"The pattern that we've seen this winter really has to do with El Nino."
As a result, the sub-tropical jet located over the state has created a lot of moisture this winter. The cloud cover associated with this type of weather system also helped keep temperatures down. "So, typically in an El Nino winter we will have these colder and wetter conditions. And, this winter has been classic textbook El Nino," Knox says.
This El Nino cycle has not only forced us to bundle up outdoors..it's also had us bundle up indoors or crank up the heat. "The cold has been really unrelenting this winter. We've had day after day of cold weather and that has caused tremendously high heating bills."
Compared to last winter, heating demand in Athens was 32% higher and in Atlanta 36% higher. But Knox says we can look forward to warmer temperatures and dryer conditions this Spring.
One benefit of having an El Nino winter- fewer hurricanes and increasing lake levels in Northeast Georgia.
