Preliminary data points to a “typical” northern plains winter this year.
Tyler Thomas is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Forks. He says while it is a little early, preliminary forecasts models point to a standard weather pattern for the region.
"The extremes we saw the last two years with like, 90 some inches of snow back in 2022-23, and something like 30 inches last winter - we're going to be somewhere in the middle of that most likely, so it's going to be more typical. Whether we're going to see the -20s or -30s, hard to say - more than likely we will see that in January, the cold snap. As far as extreme conditions, it's looking a lot more middle of the road this year."
Thomas says it’s looking like a La Nina weather pattern could be setting in to impact the winter season.
"With La Nina in the Northern Plains specifically, we tend to see those colder and wetter than average conditions. This one in particular looks a little weak, so the effects of a typical La Nina could be a little muted. So that's why we're predicting a little more of that middle of the road kind of winters."
Thomas says the currently outlook is still running on early information. The National Weather Service will be releasing another winter forecast on October 23.