Meteorologists are predicting abnormally light snowfall for the winter, due to worldwide weather disturbances caused by El Nino -- the term for an unusual warming in part of the Pacific Ocean.
El Nino will likely leave Hanover with 25 percent less snowfall then normal, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Bob Thompson.
During an El Nino, the water in the tropical pacific ocean off the coast of Peru is unusually warm. Although the causes of the system remain a mystery, Thompson said meteorologists are well aware of many of the system's results, including mild New England winters.
"We might be looking at three quarters of what you'd typically get for snow," Thompson said.
Meteorologists are predicting that this year's El Nino will be at least as strong as any previously recorded. El Nino measurements have been recorded for the last 30 years.
Although the National Weather Service does not keep exact figures on Hanover weather, scientists can predict future weather using data from Boston and Worcester, Mass. -- two cities where El Nino's effects have been studied more closely.
While Boston has a long-term average of 40.5 inches of snow per year, during years in which there has been an El Nino the average has been 32.4 inches.
In Worcester -- a small town in Western Massachusetts -- the effect has been even more dramatic. While Worcester has a long-term average of 67.1 inches of snowfall per year, during years in which there has been an El Nino the average is a significantly lower, only 54.2 inches.
But Thompson said it is impossible to say whether the same trend will occur this year.
"You have to remember that El Nino is not the only thing that's taking place in the atmosphere so, [reduced snowfall] doesn't happen every time," he said.
