Forecasters predict winter with normal temperatures, average snowfall

Medford, Ore. — Although California didn’t see as much of El Niño as residents had hoped, the weather system did bring more storms than normal to Southern Oregon. And while forecasters are already predicting what *this* winter will have in store, it’s not quite time to pull out the skis and snowboards just yet.

The weather pattern known as el Niño is over, but forecasters are already predicting what comes next.

“It is expected to be either a neutral year or a La Niña year,” forecaster Brett Lutz of the National Weather Service says, “we are actually leaning toward it being a La Niña.”

Lutz says that means a majority of the storms will come from the northwest.

“Typically it means that there is more high pressure in the gulf of Alaska on average during the winter months.”

When La Niña is moderate to strong it leads to higher snowpack in the Pacific Northwest, but at this point forecasters believe it will be on the weaker side.

“A weak La Niña means most of those impacts are likely to be further north in terms of higher than normal snowpack.”

Now that’s not to say we won’t still have another good winter, as the temperatures look to be about normal which was not the case just a few winters ago. As for the fall, the National Weather Service is predicting temperatures to be on the mild side.