What Can Northern California Expect This Winter?

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – There has been a graphic floating around the internet showing a bitter cold winter for the northern portion of the United States.

This is due to a La Nina watch that was recently issued.

A La Nina weather pattern can give hints to what type of weather we will see throughout the winter season. The pattern means that the jet stream favors a location over the Pacific Northwest. This means storm systems will ride this jet stream across the north and bring better rain chances in that location.

Northern California is right on the cusp of where the jet stream rides to the north during this pattern.

Historically, Northern California sees drier-than-average winters during La Nina winters.

This is a weak La Nina signal, so it really doesn’t give a lot of confidence to the forecast; but we will see more confidence in the forecast as we get closer to the winter season.