It was bound to happen, and it finally did as snow fell on parts of Michiana on October 15. It wasn’t a lot of snow, thank goodness. Officially it’s being calculated as a trace at the South Bend Airport. Believe it or not, that’s a record amount of snow for the day. Usually the first measurable amount of snow doesn’t start falling around here until the 23rd.

This little bit of snow, and the recent bout of cold weather, is a reminder that Old Man Winter isn’t too far off. Based on the cool summer we had and the current cool October, some might come to the conclusion the winter is going to be a rough one. What if I told you it may be the opposite case?

On October 15th, the Climate Prediction Center released their forecast for the upcoming winter season. For Michiana, it looks like we will have a “normal” winter as far as temperatures are concerned. With that said, Michiana could end up with slightly warmer or colder temperatures when all is said and done. We will also have our share of very cold weather outbreaks. As for snow and rain, it looks like it will be drier than “normal”. The main drive for this forecast is El Nino.

El Nino is expected to continue, and even strengthen in the Pacific through the winter season. For a refresher, El Nino is when the currents in the Pacific are altered and warmer water is pushed closer to South America. When this happens, it influences the weather here in the North America.

One thing I know will happen… there will be cold temperatures and there will be snow. Sorry.

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