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El Niño Winter Snow Outlook

Will Steamboat get snow this winter?

Snowier than normal 1of 7 strong El Niños

Median 85% of normal · normal 184.5 in

NOAA Dec–Feb outlookOfficial

Precip
Equal chances
Temp
Equal chances

Nearby NOAA station, not resort totals.

Compare another place

1957-58: 164.8 in, 89% of normal
1965-66: 102.9 in, 56% of normal
1972-73: 151.4 in, 82% of normal
1982-83: 157.7 in, 85% of normal (Big Three El Niño)
1991-92: No data
1997-98: 138.0 in, 75% of normal (Big Three El Niño)
2009-10: 181.4 in, 98% of normal
2015-16: No data (Big Three El Niño)
2023-24: 215.4 in, 117% of normal
  • Above normal
  • At or below
  • Normal
  • No data
  • Big 3 El Niños
NOAA station STEAMBOAT SPRINGS

Steamboat in short

The numbers in three sentences

NOAA's Dec–Feb 2026-27 outlook for Steamboat: temperature equal chances; precipitation equal chances.

Among the 7 strong El Niño winters with complete records, the snowiest here was 2023-24 (215.4 in, 117% of normal) and the least snowy was 1965-66 (102.9 in, 56% of normal).

In the “Big Three” El Niño winters it recorded 1982-83 (157.7 in, 85% of normal), 1997-98 (138.0 in, 75% of normal), no complete data for 2015-16.

Snow by winter

The chart as a table: inches, % of normal, El Niño peak

Snow in past strong El Niño winters

Winters with above-normal snow

1 of 7

In 1 of 7 strong El Niño winters, Steamboat got above-normal snow (median 85% of normal).

Normal: 184.5 in per season (NOAA 1991–2020 normal).

Seasonal snowfall at Steamboat, CO in strong El Niño winters
Winter% of normal
1957-58164.8 inPeak ONI 1.69 / RONI 1.8989%
1965-66102.9 inPeak ONI 1.82 / RONI 1.9956%
1972-73151.4 inPeak ONI 1.84 / RONI 1.9782%
1982-83Big 3157.7 inPeak ONI 2.14 / RONI 2.4085%
1991-92No dataPeak ONI 1.54 / RONI 2.12—
1997-98Big 3138.0 inPeak ONI 2.37 / RONI 2.2875%
2009-10181.4 inPeak ONI 1.50 / RONI 1.5098%
2015-16Big 3No dataPeak ONI 2.59 / RONI 2.25—
2023-24215.4 inPeak ONI 1.99 / RONI 1.42117%

Snowfall from the nearest long-record NOAA station: STEAMBOAT SPRINGS (6,866 ft), 3.7 km from the resort. Resort-reported totals may differ.

Past strong El Niño winters are a guide, not a forecast. Every El Niño is different: this one comes with a negative PDO, which NOAA says may dampen typical impacts.

NOAA's outlook and El Niño now

Issued Sep 17, 2026 · next Oct 15, 2026

NOAA Dec–Feb outlook

Official
Temperature
Equal chances
Precipitation
Equal chances

Equal chances: NOAA sees no strong tilt toward above- or below-normal precipitation here this winter.

Issued Sep 17, 2026 by NOAA's Climate Prediction Center. Next update Oct 15, 2026.

El Niño now

NOAA status
El Niño Advisory
RONI, JAS 2026
+1.69 °C
Chance of very strong (≥ +2.0 °C) in Dec–Feb
81%

NOAA status: El Niño Advisory. El Niño continues to strengthen, with a strong-to-very strong El Niño likely through January-March 2027 (remaining greater than an 83% chance). (NOAA CPC, Oct 8, 2026.)

About this station

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS · ACIS 057936
  • Station: STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, ACIS id 057936.
  • Resort coordinates from Wikipedia (“Steamboat Ski Resort”, accessed 2026-10-05).
  • Nearest long-record NOAA COOP station: STEAMBOAT SPRINGS (COOP 057936, 6,866 ft, 3.7 km away; snow record 1893-02-01…2026-08-31).
  • This is a nearby long-term station, not summit or resort-reported snowfall.

How we pick stations and count winters: method & sources. Last updated .

Not a forecast

This is not a weather forecast. Seasonal outlooks are probabilities from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center; past El Niño winters show what happened, not what will happen. Snowfall is from NOAA station records (ACIS) and may contain gaps or station changes. For forecasts and warnings, use weather.gov. Not affiliated with NOAA/NWS.

Nearby locations

Winter Park · Keystone · Breckenridge / Copper Mountain · Aspen Snowmass