Good News for Skiers: A Strong El Niño Is Set to Boost Snowfall for These States

Ski conditions in six U.S. states are likely to make up for last year's dismal snow season thanks to a super-powered El Niño phase. What states are forecast to see above-normal snowfall this year? Read on for all of the details.

Six Western States Expected to Be Hit with More Snow This Winter

Weather forecasters are predicting that snow will land above the historical average in six western states. According to the annual snowfall expectation report from Powder.com, the Sierra Nevada in California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado are in store for a snowy winter as El Niño continues to intensify.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is now predicting that El Niño will linger through the early spring season in 2027, working to fuel the snow machine across much of the Sierra Nevada, the Wasatch Mountains, and Colorado Rockies.

Unfortunately for ski enthusiasts in other parts of the country, a strengthening El Niño is likely to translate to below-normal snowfall totals. For example, the Pacific Northwest generally sees a warmer and drier winter season during El Niño years. As such, it could be another year of sparse snow season for ski resorts in Washington and Idaho. Elsewhere in the Northwest, the southern tier of Oregon will benefit from what is expected to be a more active storm track bringing more snow to the higher elevations this winter.

The rest of the northern U.S., stretching across the northern Rockies, the Upper Midwest, the Great Lakes, and New England, should be ready for lower snowfall totals when compared to the average.

How Super El Niño is Influencing the Weather

Forecasters have been warning for months that a Super El Niño phase is emerging. This climate pattern is expected to dominate the weather patterns through the fall months and into the winter.

Typical El Niño years tend to deliver wetter conditions in the southern part of the country. For instance, the long-range fall forecast is calling for the severe weather focus to shift from the northern Plains and the Midwest down into the southern Plains, the Gulf Coast, and across the Tennessee Valley.

As El Niño continues to exert its influence, large swaths of the mid-Atlantic and the Southeast are forecast to see toasty summer temperatures persist well into the fall months. These warmer temperatures will also raise the threat of drought conditions and wildfires in the mid-Atlantic, the Rockies, and the interior portions of the Northwest.

The intensification of the burgeoning El Niño pattern is also being blamed for the increased amount of tropical weather in the eastern and central Pacific this summer. Conversely, the Atlantic basin has been quieter than usual.

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