As cooler weather starts to settle in to the area, the question for many is what can we expect this winter?

 

Will we see El Niño, will the northwest be under a La Niña?

 

According to Marilyn Lohman, meteorologist with the National Weather Service, the answer is neither.  She said temperatures in the Pacific Office indicate a strong likelihood of a neutral winter, moving into spring 2020.  So, what can we expect from Mother Nature this winter, according to the Climate Prediction Center?

 

“A little above normal with the temperatures and seasonal precipitation.  So, without that really strong El Niño or La Niña signal, there’s some smaller signals in there, but they come at us in a time series of weeks, and not that monthly period.”

 

Before you think that means a winter without snow, she said two winters that saw similar Pacific Ocean temperatures were 1992-93 and 1996-97, which were very active winters around the Northwest.

 

But what about the immediate weather forecast.  Lohmann said after a very wet weekend, in which some areas received ½” of rain, things look to dry out.

 

“We are looking at dryer conditions, a couple of week systems coming through but the main effect will be some gusty winds on Friday and then cooler temperatures filtering back into the region.  A little bit below season averages not an extreme cold event, but we will see temperatures by early next week down into the low to mid-20s.”

 

 

 

 

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