How cold and snowy will Connecticut be this winter? Here’s what NOAA predicts

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Did Thursday morning feel a little wintery? Temperatures started in the 20s and 30s across the state.

Speaking of winter…NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center released its annual winter outlook, which predicts seasonal temperatures, precipitation, and drought from December through February.

Here’s the takeaway: A slow-developing La Nina could influence the winter weather pattern.

Warmer-than-average temperatures are favored from the southern tier of the US to the Great Lakes, all the way here to New England.

There’s a 40% to 50% chance that temperatures will be above average in Connecticut.

Due to where the Jetstream sets up, the northwest and the Great Lakes have a solid chance of above-average precipitation, while the south looks drier than normal. We have equal chances of above, near, or below-average seasonal precipitation from New England to the Midwest. That pretty much means we could go either way.

However, Jon Gottschalck, chief of the operational prediction branch of the Climate Prediction Center, said, “For parts of New England, there is an above-average snowfall signal for the interior, but for the cities along the coast, expect more mixed precip events such as rain changing to snow and vice versa.”

Now be aware: This is not a forecast; it is neither gospel nor the word. This is a probabilistic outlook based on 30-year climate averages. Other outcomes are possible, just less likely.

The winter outlook does not project seasonal snowfall accumulations since snow forecasts are generally not predictable more than a week in advance.

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