As El Niño Winter Looms, YouTube Forecaster Makes His Long-Range Predictions
It begins.
As the 2026-27 season approaches and the buzz behind the so-called “Super” El Niño builds, forecasters are beginning to take a crack at seeing the future.
Up next is Direct Weather, a popular YouTube channel that, each year, shares long-range forecasts aimed at determining where temperature, precipitation, and snowfall will land.
If you’re already familiar with El Niño’s typical pattern, you’ll recognize this forecast.
The climate phenomenon, which is associated with warmer-than-usual ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, can have a wide-ranging impact on global weather through a process called teleconnections.
In North America, that pattern has historically involved warmer weather over the northern states and Canada and a juiced-up southern storm track.
More or less, Direct Weather’s assessment reflects El Niño. For temperature, there’s a clear north-south split, with a dividing line running through the middle of the U.S.
In practice, that looks like higher odds of chillier weather in much of California, southern Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, and the Northeast. The Pacific Northwest and the Northern Rockies, meanwhile, are set for above-average temperatures, per Direct Weather’s prediction.
But what about precipitation?
It looks much the same, with a band of expected moisture stretching from southern California all the way to the Northeast. Anticipated snowfall follows suit, with a bullseye over the Sierra Nevada, the region where Direct Weather has the highest confidence of above-average snow.
This forecast, should it pan out, has a few clear winners.
Major Sierra hotspots, like Palisades Tahoe and Mammoth Mountain, are in the white. Across the Southwest, resorts like Taos and Arizona Snowbowl could benefit, too. Further east, resorts like Killington, Jay Peak, and Sunday River fall under the “above average” snowfall banner.
NWS
We should pump the brakes for a moment, though.
This El Niño is shaping up to be a historic or very strong event and could teeter into uncharted territory. And each El Niño, according to NOAA, is unique and leaves its own imprint on the weather. That’s regardless of the historical pattern.
Direct Weather nodded to that fact.
“It’s important to note that there is sure to be surprises,” he said.
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