The Weather Guy – North American Outlook
Posted on 5 Nov, 2017 in Weather Forecast
It’s been a winter to remember here in Australia, with three major snow events delivering over 4.7m of powder across the Snowy Mountains and some of the best powder days enjoyed by our guests in years.
But now that the season has come to a close, we cast our eyes to the Northern Hemisphere in search of any tasty tidbits of information that might give away the secret of what lies ahead for the North American winter of 2017-18. The Mountain Collective resorts across the Northern Hemisphere have already been receiving a healthy pre-season dump (Record early season snowfalls have allowed Jackson to bring forward opening day to the 24th of November!) and fingers crossed there is plenty more to come. If your a Thredbo 365 Pass Holder or Mountain Collective Pass Holder, read below for a little insight into where the powder might be this winter…going off last season, it won’t be too hard to find!
With the northern winter looming, The Weather Guy has trawled the web and compiled the opinions of the best in the business to shed some light on how things are looking for the upcoming season.
First up, the official call from the US Government’s Nation Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) suggests increased chances of above average temperatures for much of Alaska and the contiguous 48 states, with increased odds of above average precipitation for Western Alaska, the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies.
The current neutral phase of ENSO is expected to persist throughout the northern hemisphere autumn, with increasing chances of a transition to La Nina from late autumn into winter. It’s also worth noting that these increased chances of above average temperatures have been dialed back since the last outlook due to the increasing chances of La Nina. Let’s hope it keeps going this way.
The crowd over at the Farmer’s Almanac base their forecasts off a unique collection of variables including sunspot activity, tidal action of the Moon and position of the planets among others. So what are their findings?
The upcoming winter is expected to be fairly average in terms of temperatures, especially across eastern and central parts of the country, mainly the areas to the east of the Rocky Mountains. The western third of the country (mainly west of the Continental Divide) can expected the overall winter to not be as wet as last year. Forecasts are pointing to a return to more normal winter conditions in regard to both temperatures and precipitation. From the Great Lakes to the Northeast, snowier-than-normal conditions are expected. Finally, the western Great Lakes, eastern Great Plains, and points south, including Arklatexoma can expect a wide variation of wild conditions from very cold to very warm and back again!
Below are a few Mountain Collective resorts that are shaping up nicely for opening day this week and next…prepare for the powder people!
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Squaw Valley, CA
Mammoth Mountain, CA
Revelstoke, Canada
Banff Sunshine, Canada
So there you have it. The call from the official authority and the tried and tested call from the old boys. Here’s to a snowy season up north!
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Thredbo sits on the traditional land of the Monero – Ngarigo people who have looked after this land, water and community for over 60,000 years. We thank them for all they have done and continue to do to look after their country, a special place which we all love and respect.
