Saturday, October 11, 2014

Northwest 2014-2015 Winter Forecast

This is a regional winter forecast for the Northwest region. For more winter forecasts, please visit the 2014-2015 Winter Forecast Directory.

The Weather Centre
The snapshot above pretty much defines this regional forecast. Temperatures are expected to be above normal this winter, with occasional shots of cooler air if strong storm systems from the Gulf of Alaska can push over the area. However, with the alignment of sea surface temperature anomalies over the Gulf of Alaska right now, as well as the incoming El Nino, I'm favoring a warm winter.

Precipitation is likely to end up below average, as typical El Nino conditions shift precipitation away from the Pacific Northwest. Expected ridging along the west coast of North America ought to limit precipitation as well.

Snowfall is expected to be below normal, as you could probably derive from the temperature and precipitation outlooks above. The reasons behind this outlook are the same: West Coast ridging and the El Nino.

Andrew

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