This Could Be The Coldest North Dakota Winter In Years

This could be one of the coldest North Dakota winters in recent memories.

That's if you believe in the long-range forecasts.  I for one feel like the weather forecasters have a hard enough time what's going to happen in 24 to 48 hours that forecasting months in advance is like throwing something up against a wall and hoping it will stick.

With that being said, there are definitely weather patterns that settle in that give us a glimpse into the future.

One of those telling tales would be a La Nina Winter and it appears we will be going into that pattern.

First off, what is La Nina?

La Nina is the periodic cooling of the ocean surface temperatures in the Pacific. We normally see a La Nina winter every 3 to 5 years.  We currently are in a La Nina Watch and have a 60% chance of going into a La Nina pattern by the end of August.

What does a La Nina winter typically bring to North Dakota?

According to the National Weather Service, there are many complicated factors and how ocean temperatures can impact our weather patterns.  Typically, as seen in the map above La Nina will bring us a warmer and drier fall and winters tend to be wetter and colder.

So, this winter could be like a light switch.  When it hits, it will hit hard and stay.

Even the Old Farmer's Almanac is getting in on the La Nina rhetoric.

Even though the Old Farmer's official winter forecast isn't due out for a few more weeks, they dropped a tease on us saying it could be quite cold with the mention of "polar vortex" dropping into our neck of the woods.

Again, that's if you believe in long-range forecasts.  I just hope they're right about a warm fall.

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