Winter weather forecast: Wet for Northwest and Great Lakes, NOAA says

NOAA's winter forecast outlook predicts above average precipitation in the Northwest and Great Lakes regions. The rest of the U.S. faces an average or warm and dry winter.

Visitors to the Paradise Lodge at Mount Rainier arrived to a blanket of snow Thursday after one of the first bouts of snowfall in Washington state this fall. 

The Northwest could be in for a relatively frigid winter and above-average precipitation, according to forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which released its outlook for this winter Thursday.

The Great Lakes region is also expected to be wetter than normal — conditions that could lead to more snow. The rest of the country, meanwhile, faces an average or warm and dry winter. 

NOAA’s forecast is for Dec. 1 through Feb. 28, rather than astronomical winter, and it’s informed by the expectation that a La Niña pattern will develop. The natural ocean and atmospheric circulation pattern affects the jet stream, typically sending winter storms to more northerly latitudes and leaving Southern states drier and warmer than average. 

Experts at NOAA say there’s a 60% chance that La Niña will develop by the end of November and a 75% chance it will develop by January. But the anticipated La Niña doesn’t appear to be very strong, which makes forecasting more challenging. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/weather/winter-weather/winter-weather-forecast-noaa-rcna175995

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