by Northern News Now meteorologist Dave Anderson
From Two Harbors to Grand Portage and from Winton to Castle Danger, tourism is a big deal for the North Shore and Cook and Lake Counties. Now that the summer tourism season is over, people in that industry are girding their loins for the winter tourism season. Will it be a cold and snowy winter?
The answer is a little yes and a little no. Temperatures will average out to be normal after a few warm spells and cold snaps. Precip will remain low with a deficit of one inch of liquid equivalent below normal. That equals about ten inch es of snow. The 1st to the 5th should be cool with rain and snow mixes. The 6th to 12th may come up sunny but cool. The 13th to 16th will be warm and rainy. The 17th to 23rd will be cool enough for the return of rain and snow mixes. The 24th to 30th should go to cold and snowy conditions.
Speaking of cold and snow, NOAA has changed its tune on the winter of 25 & 26 slightly. Now it looks like La Nina will take over the Pacific. The resulting pattern shift of air masses and the polar jet stream should give us a cold winter if not a snowy one. I mentioned last month that NOAA said we had “equal chances” of a warm or cold winter. This month, they now say cold and dry. The dry part may sound good to those who hate shoveling but not so good to those who want to get on their sleds and ride.
