La Nina Next Winter

The endless cycle of changing weather patterns continues to decide a powder skiers fate. The great news for powder skiers is that we can mourn a powerful El Nino and welcome a rapidly developing La Nina!

A key index of the tropical Pacific used to determine whether we are in El Nino or La Nina is the sea surface temperature anomaly in the central equatorial Pacific. Last winter it was very positive, hitting around 3C. To be considered an El Nino this anomaly needs to get to +.5C, so we had a very strong El Nino. But starting in late winter, this El Nino began weakening rapidly and recently crossed to negative territory. El Nino is dead!

What this means for Canadian powder skiers we can expect a winter with above average precipitation and cooler temperatures, bringing us yet another epic season of hedonistic pleasure.