Another Cold Winter Could Be In Store For WA, Thanks To La Niña

SEATTLE — Puget Sound could be in for another active winter, thanks to a rare "three-peat" of La Niña conditions, which often lend to a colder, wetter and snowier season in the Pacific Northwest.

This month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's climate office placed the odds of La Niña lingering into early winter at more than 70 percent. If the forecast holds, climatologists said it will be just the third time in 73 years of records to see three consecutive La Niña winters.

The weather phenomenon occurs when the water near the equator of the Pacific Ocean is cooler than average. In North America, its effects on the climate are most pronounced in the winter months.

La Niña conditions were in place in February 2021, when Seattle logged its snowiest day in more than 50 years, and again last December when snow blanketed Western Washington in the days after Christmas. Low temperature records fell throughout the week. By January, Snoqualmie Pass recorded its highest snowfall in 20 years, and winter storms continued to pummel the mountain passes into April.

La Niña's effects on precipitation and temperatures vary from year to year. Both its strength and other seasonal variables play a role, too.

The latest long-range forecasts from the Climate Prediction Center show equal chances for temperatures landing above or below normal between November and January in Washington, with probabilities tilted in favor of more precipitation than usual over the same timeframe. The December through February outlook shows a stronger chance of colder than average temperatures developing, with equal chances of being wetter or drier.

The Farmers' Almanac recently published its 2022-23 extended winter weather forecast, which predicts brisk and cool conditions in the Pacific Northwest, with near-normal winter precipitation.