By Jaxson Young
Winter Weather Outlook: What La Niña Means for Winter in North America
The last few winters have left a lot to be desired when it comes to picturesque snow covered landscapes . Whether a photographer looking for aesthetically pleasing material this winter, or a snow sports enthusiast hoping for power days, or even just someone hoping to see a white Christmas this year, the arriving La Niña weather pattern this season may prove lackluster locally yet again, but promising elsewhere.
The weather pattern known as La Niña has been thrown around often throughout this year's weather forecasts, although oftenly not clearly defined. When our climate is defined as La Niña the temperatures in the Pacific are seen as abnormally lower than typical temperatures, and due to the enormity of the Pacific ocean this affects the entire planet's climate, especially in North America.
This change in temperature and resulting weather patterns in the Pacific impact New England and the Northeast–including New Jersey–by typically increasing the average temperature of winters in the region. Aswell, precipitation will likely demonstrate averages for the region. Although, this should be an improvement from last year due to the opposite effect of El niño.
Unfortunately, local winter sports enthusiasts will likely have to look elsewhere for a multitude of real snow. Across the country it is a different story, differing much from the Northeast’s lack of back-to-back snow storms. Areas near the Pacific Northwest in Idaho, western Montana, and northwest Wyoming, a cold and wet winter is likely. In local resorts such as Big Sky and Jackson Hole, skiers should expect common winter storms and excess snowfall. Even some of these resorts are being pounded by snow storms already.
For those others, not hoping for powder days, the promise of a white christmas this year isn’t looking too positive locally either. Current weather models that meteorologist use to predict temperature and precipitation next month describe possible rain close to Christmas time or just plain partial cloud cover.
Fortunately, for those looking forward to snowy winter weather, these models aren’t set in stone and a possible snowy winter in the Northeast is still possible. For now, it seems that people should at least look forward to the bundle of problems that blizzard conditions can often bring.