For snow fanatics, summer is pure agony—and when summer means 40-degree temperatures across Italy, the snow-covered slopes of a ski resort become the dream even of the most die-hard heat lovers.
Like every self-respecting late summer, thoughts turn from the beach to the mountains: a bit tired of the heat, a bit in withdrawal from skiing and snow, people start thinking prematurely about winter with its meters of snow and runs down immaculate slopes.
Now that summer holidays are coming to an end, the web is going wild with the SNOW-POOL: on forums and blogs, debate over the upcoming winter is kicking off, with some relying on urban legends such as the belief that a hot summer is followed by a super snowy winter, or old proverbs along the lines of “plenty of hazelnuts, plenty of snow”. In an escalating bidding war, people are predicting meters upon meters of snow and bitter cold all season long.
In truth, this is mostly wishful thinking seasoned with a smattering of meteorology. Confirming this are the industry experts themselves, who are keeping their cards close to their chests and not issuing any forecasts yet on what next winter might bring.
Even so, meteorologists too are turning their attention with interest toward the upcoming snow season, analyzing—or rather lining up—the factors that can serve as a starting point for a professional analysis of weather patterns over the coming months.
Thus, from major American websites like AccuWeather to Italian weather portals, early hints are starting to circulate, including on 3bMeteo, which published a dedicated article titled “Winter 2014 Weather Forecasts: first impressions”.
This is not a forecast, but rather the announcement of a study aimed at formulating the first “trends”—glimpses of the actual forecasts that will only be released in late autumn.
So, leaving aside prophetic predictions about next winter, what we have for now are purely technical elements useful to those well-versed in meteorology; for us laypeople, all that is left to do is wait and hope!
What do you think next winter will be like?
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