Winter of Extremes and Good Snow!

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is an independent intergovernmental organisation supported by 18 European Member States and 14 Co-operating States. At its headquarters in Reading, England, one of the largest supercomputer complexes in Europe is linked by high-speed telecommunication lines to the computer systems of the national weather services of its supporting States. The Centre’s computer system contains the world’s largest archive of numerical weather prediction data.

The updated ECMWF extended long range monthly outlook has just been released. The model’s monthly outlook goes out through March 2011.

A couple of predictions that look good for powder skiing in Western Canada…

• A very cold winter for much of western Canada, and especially northwestern Canada and Alaska.

• Plenty of snow from the Cascades through the Canadian Rockies.

The best interpretation of what the model is forecasting from December through March across the northern U.S. and Canada. Expect a final forecast in mid-October. Here are the predictions: