Get ready to bundle up! Meteorologists Brad Field, Bob Maxon, Ryan Hanrahan, and Darren Sweeney have come up with their winter forecast for 2008-2009. They're predicting about a foot more snow than last year and below average temperatures.
So far this year, it's been very cold - very early.
Many people rate winters in New England based on major snowstorms. The benchmark storm was the Blizzard of '78 that hit February 6-7. The storm produced massive waves and coastal flooding. It also brought in powerful winds that whipped massive snow drifts and more than 3 feet of snow in parts of eastern Connecticut.
When our team makes a long range prediction, they look globally to forecast locally. One factor to look at closely is ocean water temperature in the Pacific. El Nino is when temperatures are more than 5 degrees above average. La Nina is when the numbers are more than 5 degrees below average. La Nada is when temperatures are relatively average.
Last winter was a La Nina winter. This year, it's shaping up more like La Nada. The National Center for Environmental Prediction produces these sea surface temperature charts weekly. When looking at the "anomaly" chart you can see that around the Equator in the Pacific Ocean there is no strong signal of either below normal or above normal temperatures.
What that means is that the jet stream will be warm in the southwest and cold in the northeast.
This could mean a number of clippers with frequent light snow, along with occasional nor'easters running up the coast bringing heavy snow.
Bottom line - the Hartford area can expect about five feet of snow. The New Haven area could receive about three and a half feet. The hills should prepare for about seven feet of snow this year.
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