This winter is lining up to be a Super El Niño. Skiers, get pumped! Hopefully that means buckets of pow across the northern U.S. and (fingers crossed!) cold temps. 

Remember last winter? It kinda sucked. I mean, we were still out there skiing and enjoying it, but the whole thing felt rushed and half-assed. Like winter got to the party late and then Irish exited before anyone could notice. It felt like the shortest ski season in memory—a delayed arrival and an early melt. 

March of 2026 was the warmest March on record in California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming—and March is often a big snow accumulation month for those states; but no miracle Marches arrived this year. Researchers called last March a “snow-eater heatwave.” Great nickname; terrible phenomenon. And that was on top of an already hot winter, with record highs across many states. A lot of ski resorts closed in March and early April last year, weeks ahead of schedule.

Anyway. No need to go down a dark hole of winter doom from last year. Because a new winter will be upon us soon and that means hope. Promise. Expectations. Dreams of a snowier season. So, what’s to expect? Of course, the long-range forecasts are out and the stoke is already high. 

It’s a Super El Niño. Get excited! What does that mean, exactly? It could mean above-average snowfall with warmer-than-average temps. Rain levels could be high, but with that comes more precipitation and hopefully much of it falls as deep, fluffy pow. (Or at the very least, creamy rain butter.) 

But first, a friendly warning: Let’s all remember to approach our long-range forecasts with a healthy dose of caution. “Long-range forecasts are rarely accurate,” writes Sam Collentine, meteorologist with Open Snow. “These forecasts cover three months, but we know that skiing quality improves and degrades with storm cycles that last a few days to a week.” Collentine says we have a 90 percent chance of it being a strong El Niño. I'd take those odds.

For comparison, the winters of 1982-83, 1997-98, and 2015-16, and 2023-24 were also strong El Niños. (As a refresher: Those were all pretty solid winters to be a skier.)

Collentine says to expect warmer temps for the northern region of the U.S., while the southern Rockies could get below-normal temps. California, Arizona, New Mexico, most of Colorado, and the Southeast have a good chance of scoring above-average precipitation. (Yay! Praying it’s snow.)

The Farmer’s Almanac forecast predicts a wet winter across the west and a drier winter in the East, with increased snowfall in parts of the Northeast and the West. 

“Winter won’t look the same everywhere this year,” says Carol Connare, editor-in-chief of The Old Farmer’s Almanac. “While much of the country is headed for a milder season, some areas will still see plenty of cold and snow. Check the forecast for your region to see what’s ahead.” By region, here’s what the Farmer’s Almanac predicts:

• Northeast: The southern part of the Northeast will experience a more difficult winter, with below-normal temperatures and above-normal snowfall.
• Intermountain: A warmer and wetter winter is forecast for the Intermountain region, while snowfall is also expected to be above normal and could make for tricky travel at times.
• Southwest: Expect a mild winter in the Desert Southwest, with warmer and drier conditions, including in areas that usually receive snow.
• Pacific Northwest: Expect above-normal temperatures in the Pacific Northwest and, to no one’s surprise, a wet winter with above-normal snowfall.
• Alaska: While it will still be cold in Alaska this winter, temperatures will be above normal overall, with more snow compared with average. Precipitation will be above normal in the north but below normal in the south.

Regardless of what the weather's doing, we will be out there, properly outfitted in gear that can hold up in all the weather conditions, looking for cold stashes, seeking the perfect aspect, and finding leftover pow from the last storm cycle. No matter what happens, it'll be a good winter to be a skier.