Category 5 wrote:No pattern here for El Nino and winter
1997-1998 it snowed once
2002-2003 was one of the most brutal winters in recent memory.
El Nino with west QBO's tend to be snowy. 1997-8 was an exception because it was so strong that the storms either were pulled to the "left" or inland of the Coast, putting the I-95 belt on the "warm side" of the storms (the famous upstate NY-Quebec Ice Storm of Jan. 1998) or were accompanied by so much warmth that the precipitation was mostly rain. 1982-3 was also a Super El Nino with West QBO, but it did feature the Megalopolis Blizzard of February 11-12.
QBO East El Ninos tend to be "unsnowy". Examples include 1972-73 (the unsnowiest winter since NYC kept records) and I believe 1990-1 and 1991-2. 1968-9 was an exception, with a major December storm and the so-called "Mayor Lindsay" blizzard of February. In the latter storm, as well as 1972-3's only storm, NYC was on the rain-snow line, and what snow fell had a very high water content. In general, though, weak El Ninos tend to be snowy, since the favorable storm track (up the coast) is combined with relatively small additions of warm air, whereas strong El Ninos tend to come with a large dose of unwelcome warm air during the storms. The inter-storm periods can be quite cold (i.e. 1972-3) but the cold air is driven away by the storm (often with a little help from weak NAO blocking).
Stron La Ninas also tend to be "snowstorm killers" since the ridging from the US Southeast tneds to import warmth. Weak La Ninas on the other hand often feature snowstorms from the "Alberta Clipper" track depressed an exagerrated amount south (often with a little help from strong NAO blocking). An example of this was Raleigh, NC's 20 inches of snow on or about January 26, 2000, and extensive snow cover almost to the NC coast, and all the way up through Canada (one of the most extensive US snow covers ever).
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