It's time for: 2005-2006 Winter forecasts!

Garth:

I would expect that this winter will be cooler and wetter than this summer, and that there will be periods of day and night. There you have it. But I have not made any offerings to Ullr. It could also be worthwhile to ask an expert such as Gary Brill.

<br><br>I suspect you're being facetious, Garth, but, no matter. I'm completely clueless as to this winter's outlook. It seems to me we had essentially three years with the same or similar weather patterns. But that pattern began to break down last spring and further broke from the preceding pattern this past summer and now in early fall. This is the second successive cool fall, but thus far we are drier than normal or near normal - yet just north of us things have been wet and cool for a couple of months now. So, I think extrapolation from existing patterns would be a stretch; we appear to be transitioning to a different weather pattern than the one we've seen for some time now. Hopefully....we are in transition to a period of snowier winters and moister summers. Time will tell.

Sorry Gary, that was sort of an inside joke about weather experts.<br><br>For upcoming winter the Climate Prediction Center for the Northwest generally indicates above normal temps and equal chances of above, normal, below normal precip.<br><br> www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictio...ead03/off_index.html

www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictio...ead04/off_index.html

FORECAST PROBABILITY ANOMALIES OF 20%, 30% AND 40% FOR ABOVE NORMAL
IMPLY PROBABILITIES FOR ALL THREE CLASSES (ABOVE - NEAR - BELOW) OF 53.3% - 33.3% - 13.3%
63.3% - 33.3% - 3.3%
73.3% - 23.3% - 3.3%
RESPECTIVELY.

So for example the 40% contour in the temperature map over the Northwest for Dec-Jan-Feb means 73.3% chance of above normal temps.

An offering to Ullr should still be a good bet.