As we count the sleeps till the beginning of ski season, skiers begin their preparation by asking two question: how much will it snow this year and should I take any of these long range forecasts seriously?
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To answer the first question, nobody knows or has even the slightest inclination on how much it will snow this season. Talk to any respected meteorologist and they’ll tell you, that while long range modeling has come a long way in the past decade, any forecast that predicts snowfall totals further than two weeks out is simply unreliable. But that doesn’t mean these long term forecasts can’t paint a general picture of what the upcoming season might look like in terms of climate trends.
“Uncommonly chilly temperatures will be limited mostly to the western states and northeastern New England. Specifically, winter will be colder than normal in Maine; the Intermountain, Desert Southwest, and Pacific Southwest regions.” – Old Farmer’s Almanac
One of the more respected long range forecasts thanks to its reliance on historical record is the Old Farmer’s Almanac. According to the OFA’s Long Range Winter Forecast for 2020-2021, it’s going to be a colder than average ski season on the whole with average to slightly below average precipitation for the snowy regions of the Western United States.
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2020-2021 Old Farmer’s Almanac Winter Forecast Highlights:
- Uncommonly cold temperatures for much of the western United States
- Average to below average precipitation for the West and New England
- Above average precipitation in Alaska (Heli skiing anyone?)
- Cold and snowy for most of Canada
Read the entire outlook here: Old Farmer’s Almanac – Winter Weather Forecast 2021
United States Forecast:
Canada Forecast:
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