Meteorologist: New York City 'Could End Up With A Cold And Snowy Winter'

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Some New Yorkers are already looking ahead to winter as the oppressive heat and humidity stifle the area.

As CBS2's Elise Finch reported, shifting weather patterns suggest this winter could be very cold and very snowy.

The Farmers' Almanac recently released its winter outlook promising ice, cold and snow-filled days for the Northeast.

The Climate Prediction Center's model implies conditions could be near normal with an equal chance for temperatures and precipitation to be above normal or below normal.

"It looks like we have the likelihood of a weak La Niña developing in the Pacific Ocean and what that means is colder-than-average temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean near the equator," said National Weather Service meteorologist William Goodman. "Usually when that happens, following a winter when we have an El Niño, sometimes we end up with a cold and snowy winter. There have been instances like 2007-2008 where we ended up with a mild winter, so it's a little bit early to say at this point."

Goodman added patterns will be clearer by late October.

New Yorkers had their own predictions about the winter.

"I don't necessarily think there will be a lot of snow, but I definitely think it will be really cold," said Alonnie Johnson of East Harlem.

Ronnie Bilinsky of the Upper West Side said, "I could do without the snow. I don't like the slush, the ice."

Some say as long as temperatures and snowfall amounts are close to what is considered normal, they'll be happy.

"If it's wintertime, I want it cold. If it's fall, I want it chilly. If it's summer, I want it hot," said Quentin Carver of the Upper West Side.

Winter norms in New York City average in the upper 30s to the upper 40s and snowfall that's just shy of 26 inches.

Meteorologists at the local National Weather Service office said what happens in the higher latitudes has actually become a better predictor of what we can expect, so they will be closely monitoring snowfall in Siberia at the end of October. They will then fine-tune their winter forecast for our area the first week of November.