La Nina weather system for Japan this Winter?
All this talk of El Nino and La Nina you may want to learn Spanish instead of Japanese if travelling to ski in Japan this season.
El Nino means “ The Boy” and La Nina means you guessed it “ The Girl” they are counterparts and Ocean Atmospheric phenomenon. El Nino is the pattern we experienced last winter and the temperature of the Pacific Ocean is generally higher than normal, which resulted in warmer land temps for Japan and less snow than normal.
La Nina is the opposite and temps in the Pacific Ocean can drop by around 3-5 degrees Celsius below normal, which should hopefully mean colder temps in Japan and more snow! The JMA (Japan Meterological Agency) is saying there is a 70% chance we will experience La Nina this Autumn in Japan. JMA predict La Nina
Listen to the Farmers about the Season
Like any long-term weather forecast it is very hard to predict this with any certainty but it is a step in the right direction! I am more inclined to listen to my elderly neighbours that are all farmers and keeping an eye on weather is their livelihood, has been for over 50 years. They said we had a weird Summer last year it never got real hot and we had very little rain. This year it is more like a typical hot and rainy summer which for Nozawa usually means more snow.
If it comes true should mean a colder and longer winter ahead and lots of powder for the hungry hounds!
As you can see 2011/12 was a massive season in Nozawa. There was so much snow the locals were begging it would stop we had days on end with 50cm dumps and the skiing was unbelievable
Here is a link to some reports over that time