Last winter some weather experts were predicting lots of snow and very cold temperatures - but it turned out to be the winter that wasn't in Jersey.

Snow
loading...

Now, there's a new report out that warns of above-average snowfall for the winter of 2013.

Accuweather meteorologist Jack Boston, a long-range weather expert, says with an El Nino weather system forming in the eastern tropical Pacific ocean, "I would lay my money down that we're going to get above the normal snowfall…this is a very early version of our winter forecast - and a final version will be presented at the start of October - but we think that the winter is going to come on strong - and fairly early…we're not expecting another pre- Halloween blizzard….but I think once we get into November, all bets are off."

He says the jet stream will split this coming winter, so "we'll get storms that come across the southern U.S. on that southern jet stream, and that strengthen and move up along the east coast…it will be a much different winter than we had last winter - we do expect above-normal snowfall amounts around New Jersey."

Jersey state climatologist Dave Robinson doesn't agree.

He says "predictions of a stormy winter are suspect - according to the numbers I have it lacks credibility…I've looked at el Nino winters and Jersey snowfall totals, and in February there may be a bit more snow than normal, but in all other months of the winter, there's no strong correlation between el Nino and snowy winters."

He points out "Jersey tends to be a little wetter in El Nino winters - there's a greater chance of getting coastal storms- but our snowfall in Jersey is more dictated by what's happening in the north Atlantic - something called the North Atlantic oscillation - and unfortunately, that's something that can't be predicted months ahead…there's no glaring evidence that it's an El Nino winter coming- so get out the plows, get out the shovels…the only thing we know is El Nino winters tend not to be exceptionally cold, and they tend to be a little bit on the wet side, but you might not have the cold air there to make it snow- it might just be a rain storm."

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM