PORTLAND, Ore. — My winter outlook always begins with recognizing the expected El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle, and this year is similar to last winter.

In 2024-2025, we saw a neutral pattern develop into a weak La Niña by the end of December and transition back to neutral in February. This winter, the pattern begins as a weak La Niña and is expected to fall back to neutral conditions during the month of January.

Less precipitation:

La Niña winters are known to be wet or active due to the jet stream entrance quadrant off the Pacific aligning into the Northwest. The period of weak La Niña this winter is likely to be slightly cooler than the winter of 2024-25, which could lead to cooler temperatures and a better chance of valley snow.

Research shows weak La Niña winters for

See Full Page