Weather pattern forming thousands of miles away holds the key to Whatcom’s winter
This winter in Whatcom County and the rest of Western Washington is looking a lot like last winter, according to long-range forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center.
Those forecast models show below-normal temperatures and above-normal rainfall for the next several prediction cycles — from next week’s outlook through the 3-month forecast for October, November and December.
“That bodes well for getting that snowpack back,” said Dustin Guy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle.
“That trend could take us through the winter,” Guy told The Bellingham Herald.
And drought conditions are likely to end for Western Washington after six months of below-normal rainfall and two deadly heatwaves, according to the Climate Prediction Center.
But the key to Whatcom County’s winter is a weather pattern forming thousands of miles away, in the Pacific Ocean, along the equator off the coast of South America.
Called “La Niña,” it’s a seasonal cooling of the ocean surface that often gives the Northwest a cold, wet winter with heavy mountain snow and a good chance of lowland snow too.
Latest forecasts show a 70% to 80% chance of a La Niña developing and giving Western Washington a repeat of last winter, when 704 inches of snow was recorded at the Mt. Baker Ski Area and the lowlands saw snow, too.
