Winter weather forecasts issued Thursday show the Lehigh Valley region trending toward slightly warmer and drier than normal for 2015-16.
Winter outlooks issued Thursday show the Lehigh Valley region trending toward slightly warmer and drier than normal for 2015-16.
"Essentially because of the very strong el Nino that's going on in the Pacific Ocean, we are expecting winter to have temperatures certainly not as harsh and and as cold as we've been experiencing in the previous winters," said Christina Speciale, a staff meteorologist at Hackettstown-based WeatherWorks.
"In terms of snowfall, we are expecting it to be near normal or slightly below normal snowfall," she continued later.
Will the strongest #ElNino in nearly 20 years affect your winter climate? Find out @ http://t.co/JhJUILrRCF. https://t.co/fgmqnKgTV5
-- NOAA Climate.gov (@NOAAClimate) October 15, 2015
Average snowfall for a winter at Lehigh Valley International Airport is a little more than 30 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Last winter brought the area 50.1 inches, good for sixth place in records dating to 1979. The 2013-14 winter saw 66.8 inches, in fourth place behind 71.8 in 1995-96 and identical snowfall totals of 75.2 inches in 2009-10 and 1993-94.
The caveat in WeatherWorks' winter outlook is the possibility of a very significant snowstorm coming up the Eastern seaboard in February, judging from Arctic oscillation forecasts, said Speciale.
Before you know it, winter will be here. What can we expect? Read more here: http://t.co/jK0DRRQ41r pic.twitter.com/zGf24ljuBa
-- WeatherWorks (@WeatherWorks) October 15, 2015
Along with WeatherWorks, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued its seasonal outlook Thursday. That one also points to warmer and drier than normal conditions in the Lehigh Valley region, with the South -- from California across to Florida -- seeing wetter and cooler conditions, said Patrick O'Hara, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
RELATED: Where are your favorite spots to see fall foliage?
Looking at the shorter term, however, temperatures are about to bottom out around freezing as early as Saturday night into Sunday in and around the Lehigh Valley.
Winter is right around the corner! Minimum temperatures projected by the GFS for early Sunday morning are below.... http://t.co/0lP1yTAqgD
-- EPAWx Authority (@epawawx) October 15, 2015
"It's going to seem like it got cold all at once," O'Hara said from the weather service's Philadelphia region forecast office in Mount Holly, New Jersey. "It's going to feel like a slap."
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
