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Will this winter be cold and snowy?
Mike Sabones, meterologist-in-charge with the National Weather Service, northern Indiana office, said today there's nothing really going on with the weather currently that can provide an answer.
As a group, the National Weather Service tries to make predictions every month about the upcoming weather. Those predictions come out the third week of every month.
And the group produces a number of different types of outlooks, including month by month and season.
For the new seasonal outlook for October, November and December, Sabones said , there is no clear direction of where the weather is headed. The forecast is for equal chances of above-, at- or below-average temperatures.
For the three months that are typically considered winter - December, January and February - he said, again, there is nothing really driving the atmosphere to make a clear-cut weather prediction.
As for a precipitation predicition, that, too, is the same. No clear indication.
"It may not change at all through the winter," Sabones said.
When trying to make predictions, meterologists try to look at the combination of atmospheric flows and oceanic temperatures to see if there are any patterns that may affect the weather in Indiana.
"It's not an easy thing to forecast (the weather) for this part of the world," he said. And this year, there is nothing to put a finger on to make it any clearer, he said.
This year, there has been a lot of rain. Does a lot of precipitation in the spring and summer mean a lot of precipitation in the winter?
Sabones said not necessarily. The jet streams can alter and no correlation is seen between the precipitation amounts in the various seaons.
Basically, he said, residents might as well just wait and see what the winter brings.
