No matter where you live in North America, you may have been hearing that long-range weather forecasts are calling for some pretty bad weather for many parts of the country. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports sea surface temperatures along the equator have decreased dramatically, setting us up for a strong La Nina in the season ahead. Generally speaking La Nina, an ocean-atmosphere phenomenon, brings wetter, cooler weather for upper North America and drier conditions for the southern United States. The worst of La Nina’s cold and snow is slated for the Pacific Northwest, the northern Plains and western Great Lakes regions. So cities like Portland and Seattle that escaped last year with a very nice winter should expect a much colder, snowier winter. Areas around Fargo, Minneapolis and Milwaukee should also receive above-normal winter snowfalls. 

Other parts of the county predicted to receive above-normal winter snowfall include Chicago, Omaha, Detroit and Cleveland. Forecasts call for severe cold in Alaska and western and central Canada, too. The Central Rockies are expected to experience greater-than-normal swings between winter’s coldest and warmest days as a result of conflicting warm and cold air masses. The dry area will be the lower southern half of the United States, from east to west, which is expected to receive less rainfall than average contributing to continued drought conditions for those areas