La Niña is back for winter
Whitefish brace yourself for possible
déjà vu this winter.
The National Weather Service in
Missoula is predicting another La Niña event and with that comes
the likelihood of a wetter and colder than normal winter.
“Get your shovels prepared or
sharpened,” quipped Bob Nester, lead forecaster with the weather
service in Missoula, Monday.
La Niña means that water temperatures
in the equatorial Pacific Ocean are below normal influencing global
weather patterns. It’s an effect that created cooler temperatures
and high snowpack during the 2010-2011 winter.
Forecasters are calling for another
winter with much of the same.
“We’re gaining with pretty good
confidence that might happen again,” Nester said.
The weather pattern is expected to peak
from November to February. Similar to last year, there should be
more frequent wet weather events, an increase in precipitation and
colder temperatures. A cooler spring is also expected.
Snowpack for the 2010-2011 winter was
120 percent of normal in the western Montana river basins. Snowfall
in the Kalispell valley was 109 percent of normal and temperatures
averaged one degree below normal.
This winter’s La Niña is expected to
fall in the moderate to strong range like the last La Niña event,
which was the fourth strongest in weather data history.
“It was quite an exceptional winter as
far as La Niña years go,” Nester said.
The weather pattern is expected to
bring precipitation to much of the Northwest.
“It looks favorable for an increase in
mountain snowpack and precipitation in the valleys also,” Nester
said.
From December to February the forecast
calls for wetter than normal conditions. In the spring from March
to May the area can expect temperatures below normal and
precipitation at or slightly above normal levels.
Temperatures are expected to fall this
week with a chance of snow continuing through the weekend. High
temperatures are expected to be range from the low 30s to low
40s.
“You will see flakes in the air
sometime late this week,” Nester said.