April 4 2016 – You may have your superstitions and game day rituals for the Orioles, but I have been tracking the weather history to see if there is any connection. I am not writing about the huge Chris Davis contract or health of Machado. The purpose of this post is a follow up to what I wrote before our past winter began because I saw a correlation between El Nino, Snow, and The Baltimore Orioles post season success. Well, we just had a record strong El Nino and the January snowstorm of 29.2 inches was the largest in Baltimore history. That boosted our seasonal snowfall well above normal, confirming that we would get all or nothing. Here in April we have a seasonal total of 35.1 inches, well above the 21 inch average mark and in some good company. The chart here shows the comparison over the last 50 years as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Orioles beating the Dodgers in the 1966 World Series.
What is the common thread? When there is a very strong El Nino it seems that the Orioles make the post season. But when there is over 30 inches of snowfall, the following season the Orioles win the World Series. It has happened twice! But, when there is a winter surrounding the baseball season with less than 5 inches of snow, the Orioles at least make it to the American League Championship. That has happened twice as well. As a scientist and statistician I must point out that correlation is not necessarily causation. At least until we find out why 😉
Related Articles:
El Nino Snow: All or nothing in Baltimore
Record Largest Snowstorm in Baltimore
My first mention of this connection
The Other El Nino- Chris Farley
I must pay tribute here:
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Faith in the Flowers- For Lexi Hack and Save A Limb Fund
These shirts and eco-friendly Tote Bag come with a bracelet to help raise money for 16 yr old Lexi Hack. She is having her 5th and final surgery in April to fix her legs. She wants to give back to Sinai Hospital and the program that paid for the procedures. Please consider joining us: 
Get the award winning Kid Weather App I made with my oldest son and support our love for science, weather, and technology. Our 3 year anniversary of the release and our contribution to STEM education is this November. It has been downloaded in 60 countries, and works in both temperature scales. With your support we can expand on the fun introduction to science and real weather.