2010 – 2011 Winter snow predictions for California, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Utah, Nevada, Lake Tahoe, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, North West and North East.

Overall, AccuWeather.com Chief Long-Range Meteorologist Joe Bastardi is predicting that the worst of winter’s cold and snow will be from the Pacific Northwest into the northern Plains and western Great Lakes. That will put cities like Portland and Seattle that escaped with a very nice winter last year, colder and snowier this year. Fargo and Minneapolis to Green Bay will also receive above-normal winter snowfall.
Other cities predicted to receive above-normal winter snowfall include Chicago, Omaha, Minneapolis, Detroit, Cleveland, Seattle and Portland.
Bastardi predicts late November and December could get winter off to a fast start in the East, with a major thaw coming for much of the country in January.
He said this year from the central Rockies to the Northeast a higher variance of temperatures will be present – “greater-than-normal swings between winter’s coldest and warmest days.” The conflicting warm and cold air masses contributing to these temperature fluctuations have placed this area into what Bastardi calls the “Wintry Battle Zone.”
Bastardi predicts severe cold will hit Alaska and western and central Canada.
Temperatures this Winter
Temperature-wise, Bastardi is forecasting slightly higher-than-normal temperatures (0.5 to 1 degree warmer) for Boston, Washington, D.C., and New York City.
Detroit, Chicago, Kansas City and Minneapolis will be a degree or so cooler than average, while much of the western part of the nation may see temperatures that dip a couple of degrees.
Bastardi said Salt Lake City could be as much as 1-3 degrees colder, while Denver will be about 2 degrees below normal and both San Francisco and Los Angeles will have temperatures about 1.5 degrees cooler.
Above-normal snowfall is predicted for the Great Basin region, the Northwest and northern Plains, while the South and Southwest will get less snow than average.
Story by Kirstie Hettinga, Carly Porter and Henry Margusity, AccuWeather.com Staff Writers.
“The Canadian winter will be as harsh as last year’s was gentle,” Bastardi said.
Southwest U.S. 2010 winter forecast
Long Range Weather Forecast for October 4th – November 30th
- Farmer’s Almanac
October 2010
4th-7th. Gusty winds, showers.
8th-11th. Fair, chilly.
12th-15th. Milder, then showers.
16th-19th. Mostly fair.
20th-23rd. Unsettled from West Coast east.
24th-27th. Clearing, turning colder.
28th-31st. Unsettled, showery.
November 2010
1st-3rd. Pleasant most sections, except turning stormy for Utah.
4th-7th. Clearing, cold.
8th-11th. Pleasant, then unsettled with gusty winds, precipitation. Some wet snow Nevada, Utah, northern Arizona.
12th-15th. Fair.
16th-19th. Gusty winds, heavy precipitation, snow for Utah.
20th-23rd. Fair, cold.
24th-27th. Light snows for Nevada, Utah, parts of Arizona, then fair, cold.
28th-30th. Fair at first, then stormy. Snowstorm Utah, showers, thunderstorms Arizona.
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Overall it looks like Lake Tahoe and the rest of the North West is going to have a great season with lots of snow! If you are stuck living in the North East then you will also have good snow….but nothing like out west!
I can’t wait!!!