As New York City enjoys the fall weather, winter begins to loom in the air. The closer winter comes, the more accurate weather predictions become. Although some of the predictions may change in the coming season, the government’s meteorologists at the National Weather Service (NWS) has released the 2019 winter prediction for New York. Unlike earlier predictions, it’s looking much warmer than usual.
Above Average Temperatures
The NWS is predicting above-average temperatures for New York this winter. This prediction comes from the El Nino expectations. For those who are unfamiliar with “El Nino,” the term refers to “ocean-atmosphere climate interaction that is linked to a periodic warming in sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific.” By the looks of this winter’s El Nino, New York and the rest of the United States should be expecting a warmer winter than usual. Keep in mind that the precipitation potential for New York is predicted to be in the normal range.
Snow Levels
The toughest part of winters is dealing with the snow. Many people like knowing as early as possible when snow is going to hit and how much will accumulate. According to NWS, it is impossible to have an exact prediction of how much snow New York will have this winter. Even though other weather services try to predict how much snow will accumulate over the season, snow levels typically cannot be predicted more than a week in advance. It should also be noted that although New York should expect a warmer than average winter, there will like be snowfall this year.
Other Weather Service Predictions
The Old Farmers’ Almanac released their weather prediction for winter six weeks before NWS. Their prediction for New York looks much harsher than NWS. The Old Farmers’ Almanac predicts colder than average winter, above average snowfall, and for the cold to last after the official start of spring. A prediction the coincides with NWS is the Weather Channel’s long-range forecast. They also predict a winter with higher than average temperatures.
It’s important to remember that predictions made this far ahead of time are more than likely to change. These predictions are simply meant to give people an idea of what to expect this upcoming winter. It won’t be until the season is in full swing when New Yorkers will know which weather service was correct in their predictions.
