Millions of Americans could be facing a punishing winter, with repeated snowstorms and bitter cold potentially turning parts of the country into an Arctic “battleground.”
A long-range forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) points to a major shift in the areas expected to receive heavy precipitation between December 2026 and February 2027.
The latest outlook shows an increased likelihood of above-average precipitation along the entire US East Coast, stretching from southern Maine to Florida. The wetter-than-normal pattern could also extend inland across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.
California is also expected to experience above-average precipitation. In the Sierra Nevada and other high-elevation areas across the West, that could translate into several feet of snow.
Above-normal precipitation does not automatically mean snow, but several independent forecasters say at least 19 states may need to prepare for a potentially major winter storm season.
Independent forecaster Direct Weather said nor’easters could become a frequent feature along the East Coast this year. “We do expect nor’easters to be a frequent event this year up the East Coast, and these do tend to be snow producing at least for somebody depending on where that low [pressure system] is located,” the forecaster said.
Meteorologist Ryan Hall said a broad area covering the South, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic could face the greatest risk. The zone includes Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, the Appalachians, the Carolinas and Virginia.
Hall said: “On my map, this is the winter storm battleground, and this is actually where my forecast has changed the most. I’m now a lot more confident than I was a few weeks ago that somebody in this corridor is going to get a big snowstorm or a big ice storm this winter.”
A woman battles cold and snow in New York City in January 2026. New forecasts suggest the Northeast could face another winter of extreme snowfall (Stock Image)
NOAA’s seasonal outlook has been updated to account for El Nino, finding above average chances of rain or snow along the entire East Coast and southern US this winter
For the Northeast—including Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland—Hall said the winter forecast remains a “coin flip” between rain and persistent snow.
The meteorologist revised his outlook after NOAA’s September 17 seasonal forecast identified significant precipitation changes linked to El Niño, the climate phenomenon known to disrupt weather patterns worldwide.
El Niño develops when Pacific Ocean temperatures become much warmer than normal. That warming pushes the natural jet stream that typically crosses the middle of the United States farther south.
The shift can send additional moisture into the southern half of the country, increasing the potential for rain, flooding and snow from California and Texas to the Carolinas.
EXPLORE MORE: Woman Appears Distressed, Flails and Speaks Incoherently on Seattle Sidewalk
However, NOAA’s updated map suggests the moisture could also track north along the East Coast. The strongest chances for heavy rain or snow are forecast across northern Florida, Georgia, southern Alabama and Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina and eastern Virginia.
Although NOAA’s winter outlook favors more rain and snowstorms across the Northeast and New England, Hall cautioned that it remains too early to determine whether El Niño will bring enough cold air for sustained blizzards.
“It’s still a tricky forecast. [Washington] DC, Baltimore, Philly, New York, Boston. I still like the storm signal and the new outlook runs that wet pattern way up into New England,” Hall explained in his September 19 forecast on YouTube.
“I think there’s going to be plenty of chances over here. But that still doesn’t answer the thing that everybody actually wants to know: rain or snow. And I’m going to be sticking with that same coin flip.”
Meteorologist Ryan Hall has said that millions from Oklahoma to the Carolinas may be caught in a “winter storm battleground” between December and February 2027
Whiteout conditions were frequently reported during the 2025-2026 winter season, from the West Coast across to the Great Lakes (File Image)
Hall noted that previous El Niño winters produced wildly different snowstorm seasons along the East Coast.
During the winter of 1997-98, an El Niño produced temperatures that were too warm and resulted in only 0.1 inches of snow falling in Washington DC. Meanwhile, the 2009–10 El Niño winter dropped over 56 inches of snow on the nation’s capital.
Direct Weather, which is run by self-taught forecaster Ashton Ballou and bases its outlook on public ocean-temperature readings and seasonal computer models from NOAA, was more bullish on the chances of heavy snow along the East Coast.
Specifically, Direct Weather’s September 15 prediction expected higher amounts of snow to build on the western side of the frequent storms forecasted to roll through the Northeast this winter.
‘Somebody on the western edge of that storm would be likely getting major amounts of snowfall. We do expect those to be battering us all fall and wintertime long,’ the forecast warned.
AccuWeather was more skeptical that this winter would end up being a record year for snow, stating that 2027 may actually end up setting records for a lack of snow.
AccuWeather lead long-range expert Paul Pastelok said in a statement: ‘It may be more about rainfall this year, coastal flooding, and rivers rising. That’s something you talk more about during the spring, but it could be the opposite this year.’
