Forecasters Predict Wet Fall And Winter In Wisconsin

WISCONSIN — Wednesday afternoon marked the official arrival of autumn in Wisconsin. The first week of fall brought in a cold front, scattered storms and onshore breezes causing higher waves in Lake Michigan.

The start of fall will have both temperatures and precipitation 50 percent above normal in October, data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed.

Federal climate forecasters see a warmer and wetter 2021 winter season for Wisconsin. The temperature outlook from September to December will be 55 percent warmer than other years, according to data from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.

Precipitation for the state will be 50 pecent higher for the eastern half of the state from October to December, federal data showed.

Emily Becker, the lead writer for the El Niño-Southern Oscillation blog, said that forecasters see a 70 to 80 percent chance of La Niña in 2021. Stronger La Niña winters on the West Coast typically mean more snowfall, but so far projections see a weak pattern.

La Niña has a colder effect than its counterpart El Niño. When trade winds are stronger and cold waters rise in the Pacific Ocean, the water pushes a jet stream of air north, the administration said. This phenomenon brings more rain and cold temperatures to the northern parts of North America, including the Pacific Northwest and Canada.

The administration updates its seasonal outlooks and tracks La Niña developments every month. A detailed winter outlook is usually released mid-October.