Last season, La Niña was moderate to strong, which translated into forecasts of much above average snowfall for the northern part of the U.S. and into Canada. For the most part, this forecast came true with nearly 150 percent of average snow falling in the Pacific Northwest and record seasons extending into Utah and northern Colorado.

However, this season’s La Niña is only about 60 percent as strong as last season. The tough part about this fact is that the forecast for snow isn’t as simple as lowering last season’s predictions by 1/3rd. When La Niña is strong, its affects on snowfall are rather predictable. When La Niña is weaker (or non-existent), it’s affects on our wintertime weather patterns are less certain, so the outlook for this season is much less confident. But let’s give it a go anyway…