New England
This one’s a toss-up. Coastal areas are supposed to see above-average precipitation, but it’s unclear if that will extend inland to resorts like Stratton and Jay Peak in Vermont and Sunday River and Sugarloaf in Maine.
“The problem with the Northeast is that in general, it doesn’t have a very strong signal during El Niño,” Di Liberto says, meaning there's not many indicators around to make concrete predictions. “We’ve seen it do a little bit of everything.
That said, there are a few signs that snowfall this winter could be underwhelming: Usually El Niño means warmer than average temperatures across the Northeast, he says, “so if they do get precipitation, it could happen as rain or ice storms.”
Powder Outlook: Not great. But not maybe not horrible, either. (Thanks, Science.)
It’s not just about how much snowfall to expect. You also have to consider how long the snow will fall, and Di Liberto says to expect a long winter.
“El Niño’s not a storm, so it’s not like it’s going to ‘hit”, he says. “We’re going to see a bigger snowfall in the beginning and end rather than the middle.”
It's important to remember that these predictions are, well, predictions. In othe words, don't rush to cancel your trip just yet.
Even so, you might want to trust the experts. Andrew Siffert, a senior meteorologist at the insurance brokering group BMS Intermediaries, is putting his money where his mouth is. “I’ve already booked some ski trips this year to Aspen and the Tahoe area,” he says. “It looks too good to pass up.”