Nov 19, 2022 - Things to Do

What a third La Niña means for Colorado's winter forecast

John Frank

Seasonal precipitation winter weather map — Courtesy of NOAA

This year's snow forecast is more unpredictable than usual.

What's happening: It's our third consecutive La Niña winter — a rare occurrence that meteorologists have dubbed a "triple dip La Niña" — and most of the state is 50-50 on whether we'll get more or less snow than average, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"Looking back at snowpack across Colorado during the past La Niña years shows how this pattern brings much more variability to the mountains," Fox21 meteorologist Valerie Mills reports.

Be smart: La Niña refers to cooler water temperatures in the equatorial Pacific. It typically brings above-average snowfall to the Pacific Northwest.

The Rockies are split in this pattern, however, with the northern and central mountains that include Colorado seeing slightly above-average or average snow totals and southern parts of the state left with below-average conditions.

What to watch: The early season in Colorado looked good, but November will end with drier weather putting snowpack below average, OpenSnow meteorologist Joel Gratz tells us.

For the rest of the season: "We'll hope for the best, but historical La Niña seasons in Colorado are mixed with statistics leaning just a bit toward greater than average snowfall," he adds.

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What a third La Niña means for Colorado's winter forecast

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