Good News You Patio Will Double As A Deep Freezer! NOAA Releases Minnesota Winter Prediction

There is almost ALWAYS good news to be had, you just have to look hard enough to find it. The good news about the NOAA winter prediction for Minnesota is that you can probably unplug that freezer in your basement and save some electricity as your patio will more than likely do this winter. NOAA's prediction? Bundle up Minnesota.

The prediction for winter was released today from the Climate Prediction Center, an offshoot of the National Weather Service, and it's calling for a third straight year of La Nina, which often means a wetter winter for some, but for other states like Minnesota, it will mean more than likely below average temps starting in December.

Starting in December 2022 through February 2023, NOAA predicts drier-than-average conditions across the South with wetter-than-average conditions for areas of the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes, northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest.

In terms of the temperatures expected in our next of the woods NOAA's prediction says to expect "below-normal temperatures are favored from the Pacific Northwest eastward to the western Great Lakes and the Alaska Panhandle."

If you are a fan of snow, it's looking like it will be an average year according to the predictions offered with Minnesota falling in the white zone which basically indicates it's going to be about right where it normally is (but not like Halloween 1991).

It should be noted that the precipitation model does come with a slight caveat...

NOAA’s seasonal outlooks provide the likelihood that temperatures and total precipitation amounts will be above-, near- or below-average, and how drought conditions are anticipated to change in the months ahead. The outlook does not project seasonal snowfall accumulations as snow forecasts are generally not predictable more than a week in advance. 

In other words, it might just be a snow-magedon and really cold winter. Here's to using that patio as a deep freezer, and using the deck as a temporary refrigerator for parties!