This Anomaly Could Mean Huge Change to Missouri & Illinois Winter

It scares me when I suddenly understand a complicated weather simulation and that's the case with an anomaly that I've seen shared which could mean a huge change to the outlooks for Missouri and Illinois upcoming winter months.

I just watched this video shared today by Meteorologist Travis Roberts on YouTube. I would highly recommend watching his full explanation as he does a much better job than I could ever do showing a comparison between activity in the Pacific Ocean last year compared to this year which could signal a change in the winter outlook for Missouri and Illinois.

Here's the pattern from November of 2023.

Compare that to the situation in the Pacific now which has an anomaly which could change the weather pattern.

He can explain the reasons why, but that could lead to systems moving through the Midwest with Missouri and Illinois staying rather mild between now and the end of the year at least.

That weather system pattern (if it happens as the current models are showing) could mean the colder weather and snowfall would remain in the northern states like Minnesota and Wisconsin while Missouri and Illinois would remain somewhat milder and dry. As he says in his full video which I hope you'll take the chance to watch, this is all based on data he's seeing now and can and likely will change.

Full disclosure: I hate snow so this could be me grasping for some hope that winter will be mild again, but in my defense Travis is a well-respected meteorologist so he's got plenty of science behind the theories which I hope prove to be correct.