Recorded 04/03/2026, Aired 04/07/2026

Hosts Zack Guido and Mike Crimmins go full coroner in this month’s episode of the Southwest Climate Podcast and do an autopsy of the record-setting March heat wave. Expect fluid dynamics, conservation of angular momentum, and level of divergence type of nerding for this deep dive. They go over the heat impacts to snowpack and forecasted streamflow, and the end of month precipitation event which looked monsoonal. Lastly there is some excitement for the upcoming super El Niño that’s brewing. Stick around on this long-ish one for a full explainer on the Pacific Decadal Oscillation - at the 1:02:43 mark.

Mentions:

Climate Perspectives - Western Region

Paper: “Synthesis of Publications on the Anomalous June 2021 Heat Wave in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada”

USDA - NRCS: Snowpack & Streamflow

RainLog

NOAA - CPC: El Niño Southern Oscillation

NOAA - NCEI: Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)

Recorded 03/03/2026, Aired 03/04/2026

In this month’s episode of the Southwest Climate Podcast, Hosts Zack Guido and Mike Crimmins rank their favorite months of the year - and June gets no love. They recap February’s weather which was high and dry but not much else. There’s a discussion on ENSO with a deep dive into a couple related papers of note. And with the end of meteorological winter they cover the bleak snowpack conditions in the west. Towards the end there is a look into the models to see what is on the horizon - including for the monsoon. Stick around for an announcement on the 2026 Southwest Monsoon Fantasy Forecasts game with a lot of new exciting features - you won’t want to miss!

Mentions:

NOAA - Climate Prediction Center: ENSO Discussion

Paper: “Southern Hemisphere Surface Warming Drives Southwestern U.S. Precipitation according to AI-Informed Climate Model Simulations”

Paper: “Anthropogenic Intensification of Cool-Season Precipitation Is Not Yet Detectable Across the Western United States”

USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service: NWCC Interactive Map

NOAA - Climate Prediction Center: Season Forecasts

National Multi-Model Ensemble (NMME)

International Multi-Model Ensemble

Hosts Zack Guido and Mike Crimmins are kicking off 2026 with a look at this winter’s weird weather in this month’s Southwest Climate Podcast. They do a recap of the last couple of months of precip and temps. They do a review of large scale climate patterns - Madden–Julian Oscillation, Greenland Block - and get into a deep discussion about the Polar Vortex. They cover the not-so-great coverage of snowpack and look at the forecasts through peak season going forward. Rounding out the episode is the NOAA announcement on RONI (a topic of past episodes) and a preview of the AI focused episode that is in the works.

Mentions:

Paper: Arctic sea ice decline and continental cold anomalies: Upstream and downstream effects of Greenland blocking

Paper: What Is the Polar Vortex and How Does It Influence Weather?

• Figure 2

• Figure 1

Article: Stratospheric Warming Confirmed: Polar Vortex Collapse to Bring Major Weather Disruption in the Coming Weeks

Article: February forecast calls for more polar vortex mayhem

Article: Snow Drought in the West Reaches Record Levels

NOAA NWS - Climate Prediction Center: Forecasts

NOAA NWS - Public Information Statement: Implementing a Relative Oceanic Niño Index effective February 1, 2026

NOAA NWS - Information Circular: Relative Oceanic Niño Index (RONI)

Paper: Northern Hemisphere Wintertime Teleconnections from the 2023–24 El Niño Offset by Background SST Trends