BOISE, ID – Chances are this winter will be colder and wetter than usual. But Bogus Basin ski area remains closed. What should we expect in a La Nina season?
It’s a La Nina year. That means this winter is supposed to be wetter and cooler than normal. Jay Breidenbach with the National Weather Service in Boise says that’s what’s supposed to happen. But predicting the weather is like a game of chance.
Jay Breidenbach: “Think of it as a roulette wheel. Obviously, you want to bet on the cooler and wetter pattern, but it doesn’t preclude that maybe that drier than normal category could come up.”
Breidenbach says there’s a greater than fifty percent chance that cold and wet weather will prevail. Though, a major snowstorm isn’t expected in the next few days.
Jay Breidenbach: “The atmosphere is not cooperating and really no significant snow expected for at least the next five to seven days. Beyond that, there is some evidence that the pattern may change as we get towards Christmas.”
Last season, La Nina visited the Treasure Valley early and opened Bogus Basin for skiers by Thanksgiving. This year, November and December have been drier than usual. Hydrologist Ron Abramovich of the Natural Resources Conservation Service says it’s too soon to worry about water levels.
Ron Abramovich: “We’re a little below normal right now in terms of snowpack. But on January 1 is when we’re 40% of the way through the season. And all we really need is a couple of big storms and we’ll be right back in there near 100% of normal.”
The National Weather Service’s Breidenbach says expect a trace of snow in the mountains and fog in the Treasure Valley in the next day or so.
Copyright 2011 Boise State Public Radio