Another bird flu death

Cold weather encourages the spread of the virus and large swathes of China have been hit by sub-zero temperatures in recent days.

Could region be in for harsher weather for next few years?  | Jamestown, North Dakota

The cold and snowy winter this season might be attributed to a change in temperature of the Pacific Ocean, said John Wheeler, meteorologist for Forum Communications Co. If that proves true the northern Plains could see several years of harsher weather in the future.

“2008 was the coldest year since 1996,” Wheeler said. “That is a break in a trend of much above average weather and might be attributed to a shift in weather patterns involving sea surface temperatures in the Pacific.”

The Pacific Decadal Oscillation was discovered by fisheries scientists studying cycles in salmon populations in the late 1990s. They found surface temperatures of the eastern Pacific Ocean vary on about a 30-year cycle not only affecting fish populations but the weather inland. By studying historic records they have been able to establish a record of the phenomenon back to the 1880s.