NOAA's winter outlook points towards winter with active pattern
"Wetter-than-average weather is most likely across the Northern Tier of the U.S. during winter, which extends from December through February," according to NOAA.
Of course, "wetter" can refer to rain, snow, a mix of the two, or even sleet. So NOAA's use of "wetter-than-average" does not mean we will just see more rain this winter.
With plenty of opportunities for cold air intrusions, Michiana is in a zone where "wetter" could certainly mean many storm systems with snow, or a wintry mix.There is no blue on the temperature outlook map, which means no parts of the country are "favored" to be decidedly below normal this winter.
However, Michiana is safely in the zone (white area) that favors "equal chances for below-, near- or above-average temperatures."
That suggests that the opportunity for plenty of shots of cold winter air is there for not only Michiana, but the Northern Plains and the western Great Lakes.
The outlook is only for the December-February period, which, as we are well-aware, does not include winter in its entirety. So, we dug ahead and looked into the outlook for next February thru April.As of now, NOAA is suggesting the potential for a good amount of cold air for the period February-April across the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest.
Michiana is not technically in the blue shade on the map above, but some variables that meteorologists look at support a healthy amount of colder air from late winter to early spring.
The ABC 57 First Warning Neighborhood Weather Team will be working on an official winter outlook for Michiana over the coming weeks, so be sure to be on the lookout for that!