NOAA: Extreme Cold and Snow Unlikely This Winter

Winter storms caused $1.9 billion in insured losses in 2013, five times higher than the $38 million in damages seen in 2012, so it’s good to read via NOAA’s U.S. Winter Outlook that a repeat of last year’s winter of record cold and snow is unlikely.

In a release, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center says:

Last year’s winter was exceptionally cold and snowy across most of the United States, east of the Rockies. A repeat of this extreme pattern is unlikely this year, although the Outlook does favor below-average temperatures in the south-central and southeastern states.”

While the South may experience a colder winter, the Outlook favors warmer-than-average temperatures in the western U.S., Alaska, Hawaii and New England, according to NOAA.

It’s important to note that for insurers, winter storms are historically very expensive and the third-largest cause of catastrophe losses, behind only hurricanes and tornadoes, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.).

From 1994 to 2013, winter storms resulted in about $26.6 billion in insured losses, or $1.4 billion a year, on average, according to the Property Claim Services unit of ISO.

Meanwhile, NOAA’s Winter Outlook also suggests that California’s record-setting drought will persist or intensify in large parts of the state this winter.

Mike Halpert, acting director of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, says:

Complete drought recovery in California this winter is highly unlikely. While we’re predicting at least a 2 in 3 chance that winter precipitation will be near or above normal throughout the state, with such widespread, extreme deficits, recovery will be slow.”