Will we have a cold winter in Columbus?  Snow?  Ann Cummings a blogger in New Hampshire brought up a report about an El Niño weather pattern forming that will keep upper New England warmer than normal this winter...   El Nino  ... Ann thinks they will be spared a cold winter because of El Nino. What does that mean for Columbus?

The government on El Niño            

More El Niño from NOAA

" Typical El Niño effects are likely to develop over North America during the upcoming winter season. Those include warmer-than-average temperatures over western and central Canada, and over the western and northern United States. Wetter-than-average conditions are likely over portions of the U.S. Gulf Coast and Florida, while drier-than-average conditions can be expected in the Ohio Valley and the Pacific Northwest"

Yes! Drier... warmer sounds like a winner to me!

Conversely 'The  World Snow Board Guide' believes the US is going to have a cold winter. 
The World Snow Board Guide's opinion is based on the Old Farmer's Almanac.  According to MontstersandCritics.com the old Farmers Almanac forecasts a harsh winter this year.  The Old Farmer's almanac has gone high tech.... 

"BOSTON - The Old Farmer's Almanac is embracing new technology -- from Internet podcasts to a 24-hour Web cam --"

and says of this winter:

"as the 215-year-old Yankee oracle warns of a harsh North American winter with a chance of snow even in Las Vegas."

And the Old Farmer's Almanac is not just weather :

"FOLKLORE?Among its illuminations for 2007: It may snow in Kentucky and Tennessee this winter. You can tell how aggressive a man is by the size of his index finger. People with red hair feel more pain than brunettes. And lip balm can help you whistle better."

A Marysville Ohio man will know afterward who forecasted right, what percentage forecasters  got right for what cities and can sell you, them the stats.

Forecast Advisor  "Grading Weather Forecasts"  a  Wall Street Journal Online  column says:

"The site, Forecast Advisor, tracks the changing city-by-city forecasts from major weather companies and the National Weather Service, and evaluates how close the forecasters came to actual conditions. Plug in a Zip Code, and the site offers up the local track records for each provider."   I plugged in 43085* below...

Carl Bialik 'THE NUMBERS GUY' at  WSJonline also wrote: 

"Last week I received an email from Eric Floehr, a 36-year-old computer consultant in Marysville, Ohio, who has long been interested in meteorology. (When he was five, his mother wrote in his baby book that his fascinations were dinosaurs and the weather.) Three years ago, as a part-time venture, Mr. Floehr developed software to compare the major weather forecasters. Recently, he launched a Web site that makes the comparisons available to the public, and gave me access to some of his underlying data.

Eric Floehr and Forecast Advisor have a blog... 

Forecast Advisor*  forecasts and tells the track record of weather forecasters...pay no attention to all the real estate Google ads... !!! 

Chant after me...

El Niño! 

El Niño!

El Niño!

c. 2006 Columbus Best Blog and Maureen McCabe.