NWS: Winter models show equal chances for above normal, normal, below normal snow

LINCOLN, Neb. - Soon enough, winter will begin impacting Nebraska.

To get a pulse on what kind of a winter season the Cornhusker state is in for, News Channel Nebraska reached out to Becky Kern with the National Weather Service. She says it’s still up in the air.

“We really don’t have a strong feeling, one way or the other, if it’ll be a wet, active, and cold winter vs. a warm and dry winter,” Kern said.

Kern is the Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the NWS in Omaha and explains that trends studied by climatologists preview centers show equal chances of being above, normal, and below for precipitation. Much of this is due to a more natural trend in the equatorial pacific which breeds El Niño and La Niña years.

While you might think heavy snow fall would put a dent in a long drought dating back to July, Kern says that isn’t quite the case.

“Your soils aren’t absorbing the water [from snow] as quickly,” Kern said. “Our drought monitor remains pretty stagnant right now, but we look to those spring time rains to really improve drought status.”

However, that doesn’t mean no snow at all is a good thing.

“We want to keep those precipitation averages coming… We need those precipitation chances across the state to really improve conditions,” Kern said. “With the dry fuels that are out there, if we don’t have snow cover, it really continues our fire weather season too.”