NOAA February 2026 Outlook: Pattern Change Could Finally Bring Relief to the Snow-Starved Western United States

The NOAA recently released its outlook for February 2026. Will we see fortunes change for the snow-starved west? A summary is below, followed by the full text discussion.

A weakening La Niña and a strengthening Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) could finally bring relief to the snow-starved western United States in February, according to the latest 30-day outlook from the Climate Prediction Center (CPC).

• Related: Colorado Is On Track For Its Worst Snowpack on Record

After an underwhelming start to winter, when much of the West struggled with below-average snowfall, forecasters now see signs of a pattern shift that could favor colder, wetter weather across parts of the region. While uncertainty remains, long-range models signal that February might deliver the snowfall many ski areas and water managers have been waiting for.

La Niña conditions remain in place, with the Niño 3.4 index registering at –0.8°C, but subsurface ocean data show warm water pushing eastward—a sign of a likely transition to an ENSO-neutral phase by early spring. This shift, combined with a strengthening MJO signal moving into the Western Hemisphere, could help energize the Pacific storm track, especially across the Northern Rockies and adjacent High Plains.

NOAA forecasters now favor below-normal temperatures across much of the northern and central U.S., with the highest confidence over the Northern High Plains. At the same time, the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies carry the strongest odds—over 50 percent in some areas—for above-normal precipitation. Western Montana, Idaho, and northern Wyoming could see a more active storm pattern as February progresses.

Conversely, the Southwest and the southern two-thirds of California are projected to stay relatively warm and dry. The CPC notes that dynamical models, including the CFSv2 and ECMWF ensembles, continue to favor drier-than-normal conditions across the southern tier of the country, particularly in Southern California and the Southeast.

Much of this uncertainty stems from competing signals between statistical and dynamical models. Statistical forecasts, which rely on decades of past atmospheric analogs, lean toward colder outcomes, while dynamical models—which simulate future atmospheric physics—tend to be warmer. The clash underscores the transitional nature of this winter as La Niña weakens and the Pacific basin reorganizes.

Still, any boost in precipitation across the northern mountains could help offset early-season deficits. As of mid-January, snowpack across the Sierra Nevada and many Cascade basins remains 50 to 70 percent of normal, while Colorado’s southern mountains and Utah’s Wasatch Range trail their averages by similar margins, according to NRCS SNOTEL data.

If the MJO’s eastward push continues, it could drive more moisture into the Pacific jet stream—a key factor in improving snow totals as February unfolds. “The setup favors a more active northern tier and cooler temperatures, which could finally flip parts of the West into a more winter-like pattern,” said NOAA climate scientists in their January discussion.

For now, forecasters are cautiously optimistic. A February refresh might not erase the dry start completely, but it could mark the long-anticipated return of winter for the northern Rockies and parts of the Pacific Northwest.

February 2026 Outlook Full discussion:

30-DAY OUTLOOK DISCUSSION FOR FEB 2026 
 
The February 2026 outlooks are issued against the backdrop of a La Niña 
Advisory and the potential emergence of an enhanced Madden Julian Oscillation 
(MJO) signal. La Niña conditions are present but are likely (75 percent 
chance) to transition to the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) neutral phase 
during the current January-February-March (JFM) season. The latest weekly Niño 
3.4 index was at -0.8 degrees Celsius, which is still in La Niña territory. 
However, at depth, a pool of warmer than normal water has been steadily 
expanding eastward from the western Pacific, consistent with a potential 
transition to ENSO neutral conditions. Meanwhile, the magnitude of the 
real-time multivariate MJO index has been increasing in recent days in the 
Western Pacific. By the start of February, most of the European Centre for 
Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ensemble members predict this emerging 
MJO event to propagate to the Western Hemisphere/Africa or the Indian Ocean. 
Recent analysis of extratropical indices show that the Arctic Oscillation (AO) 
and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) have been mostly negative in early 
January (although both have trended closer to zero in the past few days). The 
Pacific North America (PNA) index has transitioned from the negative to the 
positive phase during the first half of January. Combined natural analog 
composites derived from the recent evolution of these tropical (ENSO and MJO) 
and extratropical (AO, NAO, and PNA) drivers depict a 500-hPa flow pattern 
dominated by anomalous ridging over the northeastern Pacific, off the west 
coast of North America. Downstream troughing is favored over the west-central 
CONUS while above normal heights are more likely across the Southeast. Weakly 
below normal heights are favored across the western Bering Sea. This combined 
natural analog composite is remarkably similar to trends  during the last 15 
years, which also favor increased ridging across the northeastern Pacific and 
the Southeast, and below normal heights over the northern tier of the 
west-central CONUS. Natural analog composites, trends , and dynamical guidance 
from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), North American Multi-Model 
Ensemble (NMME), the Climate Forecast System Version 2 (CFSv2), and the 
Forecast Consolidation Tool (CON) (which includes both dynamical model input 
and statistical guidance) form the basis of the February outlooks. The latest 
CPC Weeks 3-4 Outlooks and associated ensemble guidance from the ECMWF, Global 
Ensemble Forecast System (GEFS), and the CFSv2 also contributed. Antecedent 
conditions such as extratropical SSTs, sea ice extent, and snow cover anomalies 
were also considered where appropriate. 
 
Statistical guidance is supportive of potential widespread anomalous cold air 
outbreaks across much of the Lower 48 states during February. However, 
dynamical model guidance is much warmer, particularly across the southern 
two-thirds of the CONUS. This dichotomy between the colder statistical and 
warmer dynamical model guidance results in increased uncertainty in the 
February temperature outlook. However, given the strong agreement between 
recent trends , ENSO, MJO, and extratropical analogs  on the potential for 
anomalous cold across much of the northern and central CONUS, below normal 
temperatures are favored for much of these regions. The greatest confidence for 
below normal temperatures (40 to 50 percent chance) is indicated for the 
Northern High Plains, where statistical guidance shows the strongest signal. 
Conversely, statistical and dynamical model guidance are in good agreement in 
favoring above normal temperatures across the southeastern CONUS, with 
probabilities of warmer than normal conditions exceeding 50 percent across the 
Florida Peninsula. A second, but weaker, area of enhanced above normal 
temperature probabilities is posted for parts of the Southwest and Southern 
California due primarily to dynamical model guidance. Above normal SSTs off the 
west coast of the CONUS may also assist in increasing chances of above normal 
temperatures for coastal locations of Southern California. Enhanced 
probabilities of above normal temperatures were kept weak for this region as 
statistical guidance is much less supportive of increased warmth relative to 
dynamical model guidance. Above normal temperatures are favored across western 
Alaska due to very good support from statistical guidance. However, dynamical 
model support is relatively weak, so probabilities of above normal temperatures 
are only modestly increased. Conversely, below normal temperatures are weakly 
favored for most of Southeast Alaska and adjacent areas of the southeastern 
Mainland, consistent with C3S model output with some support from natural 
analog composites (especially across Southeast Alaska). 
 
Although the current La Niña is likely to transition to ENSO neutral at some 
point during JFM 2026, statistical and dynamical model precipitation guidance 
still generally reflect a La Niña signature for the month of February. Above 
normal precipitation is favored from the Northern Rockies, Northern High 
Plains, and parts of the Pacific Northwest southeastward to northern portions 
of the Central Rockies and Central High Plains. The greatest likelihood of 
above normal precipitation (greater than 50 percent chance) is indicated across 
parts of the Northern Rockies and adjacent High Plains, where both statistical 
and dynamical model guidance is in good agreement. A second region where above 
normal precipitation is favored is the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley, adjacent areas 
of the interior Northeast, and the Upper and Middle Mississippi Valley, 
consistent with La Niña Composites as well as with dynamical model guidance, 
especially the C3S. Typical of La Niña, below normal precipitation is more 
likely across the southwestern and southeastern CONUS. The forecast favoring 
drier than normal weather across these two regions has good dynamical model 
support from the NMME. Above normal precipitation is favored for all of western 
Alaska. Dynamical model guidance is in good agreement in depicting increased 
chances of above normal precipitation across northwestern Alaska while 
statistical guidance generally supports an extension of this signal southward 
to southwestern Alaska. Conversely, a tilt of probabilities toward below normal 
precipitation is indicated for Southeast Alaska and adjacent areas of the 
southeastern Mainland due primarily to dynamical model support, especially from 
the C3S.