SEATTLE – Get ready for what will likely be a colder, wetter winter in the Pacific Northwest than we had this past year. The National Weather Service says long-range forecasts indicate a moderate-to-strong La Nina this year.
"La Nina in the Pacific Northwest is associated with cooler and wetter-than-normal weather," said KING 5 Chief Meteorologist Jeff Renner.
The Weather Service says most physical models are predicting a moderate-to-strong La Nina while most statistical models indicate it will be weaker. Due to observations over the last several months, forecasters are leaning toward prediction of a stronger episode.
The last La Nina was in the winter of 2008 – 2009. Western Washington residents remember the region was covered in snow and Seattle streets blanketed in ice in late December.
Residents in the Green River Valley also remember that winter because that's when the Howard Hanson Dam held back a record amount of water, which led to the discovery of damage to the dam abutment. That now has the valley in danger of major flooding as the Army Corps of Engineers works to fix the dam.
However, Renner says that doesn't mean it will be as cold or as wet this winter.
"There are all sorts of La Ninas, so it won't necessarily be like that," he said.
2009-2010 was an El Nino winter. Renner says it's fairly unusual to switch from La Nina to El Nino and back to La Nina so quickly.
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