 will get buried.){kind=link}
Okay listen… snow forecast 2025 has me acting unwise already and it’s literally mid-January 2026 what is wrong with me 😭. I’m currently in my apartment with the window cracked even though it’s like 38°F outside because I’m trying to “feel winter” or whatever dumb logic that was at 2 a.m. last night. The radiator is clanking like it’s possessed. My coffee is cold. Classic.
Back in late fall the long-range outlooks started dropping hints about a moderate-to-strong La Niña pattern setting up for winter 2025–2026. That usually means: colder air loves to plunge across the northern states, Pacific moisture gets funneled into the Northwest and northern Rockies, and the southern tier stays weirdly dry and warm. Textbook setup for some spots to get absolutely nuked with snow while others just get sad little dustings. NOAA basically said the same thing in their official winter outlook if you wanna read the grown-up version right here.
For the “nuked with snow” side in the Northwest/northern Rockies/ mountains:
Places I’m weirdly optimistic about for snow forecast 2025
- Montana + northern Wyoming + the Dakotas — models have been pretty consistent showing above-average precip and cold enough temps. If those clippers keep bombing south out of Alberta we could see some stupid numbers in places like Great Falls or Bismarck.
- Great Lakes snowbelts — Michigan Upper Peninsula, northern Wisconsin, maybe even Buffalo if the wind gods are feeling generous. Lake-effect season could be savage again.
- Cascades & Sierra — decent shot at big seasonal totals. After the last couple mediocre winters Tahoe locals and Mt. Hood die-hards are crossing fingers hard.
Places that are probably gonna break my heart (again)
- Colorado Front Range — the models cannot decide if they love us or hate us. One run has us at +150% of normal, next run we’re eating warm rain in February. I’m tired.
- Utah Wasatch — leaning drier. Sorry Alta/Brighton stans.
- Southeast & mid-Atlantic — might get one or two decent nor’easters but most guidance is screaming “mostly rain, maybe some wet snow if you’re lucky”.
WeatherBell had a nice paid write-up in December with maps that made me irrationally hopeful for like three days straight. Someone leaked a screenshot on Reddit if you don’t have a sub lol.
Dumb personal snow story no one asked for
Winter before last I impulse-bought snow tires November 3rd because “this is the year Denver finally gets respect.” Spent like $840 with mounting. First real storm hits… I’m on a work trip in Phoenix. Came home to 4 inches that melted in 48 hours. Tires literally never touched meaningful snow. Sold them at a garage sale last April for $400. My neighbor still calls me “Snow Tire Guy” every December. So when I look at snow forecast 2025 charts part of my brain is just screaming “DON’T BUY ANYTHING YET YOU IDIOT”.
Denver doing its classic “4 inches and done” routine—melts fast, respect not granted.
Okay but when tho?
December was honestly kind of a dud for most of the Lower 48 (sorry powder-chasers who flew out early). Right now mid-January through February feels like the prime window for the favored zones. March is either epic pow extension or disgusting warm-up/rain depending on how the pattern crashes.
I’ll keep doom-scrolling Snow-Forecast.com, OpenSnow regional outlooks, and that one guy on X who posts 47 GFS runs a day until someone tells me it’s spring.