It’s that time of year folks.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has released their annual winter weather outlook, and as always, it bodes well for some areas, and worse for others.
I guess it depends on what your definition of a “good” or “bad” winter is, but for us skiers, we want cold and snowy all the way.
Below is the Seasonal Temperature Outlook map. It’s looking like the Southwest and Northeast are slated for warmer-than-normal winters. That doesn’t necessarily bode well for ski conditions in those regions.
For all of my fellow Northeast skiers, let’s keep our fingers crossed that this model is inaccurate…
The PNW might see colder than normal temps. That could be a good sign for less rain and more snow throughout the season. Or drier snow at the very least.
NOAA also released a Seasonal Precipitation Outlook with the map below. It looks like the majority of the country has ‘Equal Chances’ for being above or below normal. That’s promising, but I want you to focus on northern Idaho and northwestern Montana.
It’s the only region where precipitation is expected to be above normal and temps are expected to be colder than normal.
That could mean for a particularly cold and snowy season for places like Schweitzer, ID, Whitefish, MT, and 49 Degrees North, WA.
Stay tuned here at Unofficial Networks for all updates regarding weather predictions heading into the season. We’ll keep you covered!