NOAA Winter Outlook: Snowier winter than last year for Midwest

The Climate Prediction Center's winter outlook calls for warmer and drier than normal conditions across the southern half of the country and cooler and likely snowier conditions across the northern third of the country. Areas not included are considered "equal chances" meaning there is no statistical likelihood one way or another. 

La Nina ( opposite or El Nino) conditions are expected to develop in the eastern Pacific. The cooler than normal tropical waters impacts weather patterns in the western hemisphere. La Nina conditions are expected to develop as early as late fall and through the winter. La Nina tends to bring wetter than normal conditions to the Midwest. Depending on temperature it can be snow or rain. A big player on key arctic air will be the often sporadic, Polar Vortex. 

Our First Warning Winter Outlook will come out at the start of November. Locally the early signs point to a snowier and colder winter than last year but not necessarily as bad as winter 2013-14. The winter South Bend saw it's third coldest and sixth snowiest winter since 1949. 

You can read the full outlook here.