Local
NOAA expects New England winter to bring more rain and slush than snow
Federal forecasters expect New England to have a warmer-than-average, wetter winter, with below-normal snowpack across the interior Northeast. The outlook comes as a powerful El Niño is influencing conditions across the region.
New England is likely to see a warmer, wetter winter with less snowpack than usual, according to a seasonal outlook released Thursday, Oct. 15, by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The forecast points to warmer-than-average conditions across all of New England and wetter-than-average conditions across much of the region, especially southern New England. NOAA also expects below-normal snowpack across the interior Northeast and New England, raising the prospect of more rain, ice and slush than snow in some areas.
The outlook reflects the influence of a record-strength El Niño, a climate pattern that can affect weather across the country. It is a seasonal projection, not a guarantee of conditions on any particular day or of how much snow any community will receive.
“Snowpack should be less than normal across the interior Northeast and New England, but the precipitation outlook favors wetter conditions along the entire East Coast, including New England,” said Jon Gottschalck, a NOAA meteorologist.
For ski areas in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, the combination of warmer weather and precipitation could mean relying more on snowmaking, Gottschalck said. The forecast would mark a shift from last winter, which brought colder and snowier conditions, including a major nor’easter that buried parts of the region in February.