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Purgatory and El Niño

Little effect

El Niño winters bring Purgatory about 7% more snow than a typical winter.

Based on 14 El Niño winters since 1986: 8 of them beat Purgatory's median snowfall. But El Niño winters here vary a lot, so it's a weak tendency at best. Ranks #22 of 152 Western resorts for El Niño snowfall.

El Niño winters (14) +7% snowfall vs. a typical winter 0.1°C (0.2°F) colder 8 days more of natural ski season
Strong El Niño (4) +1% snowfall vs. a typical winter
La Niña winters (14) −4% snowfall vs. a typical winter About the same temperature 9 days fewer of natural ski season

Checked against a real snow station: at the Cascade #2 SNOTEL station, measured precipitation in El Niño winters ran +3% vs. its average (36 winters of measurements).

Every winter since 1986

Snowfall each winter compared with Purgatory's 40-winter average, colored by what the Pacific was doing.

El Niño La Niña Neutral

Mid-mountain, November–April. Any single winter can buck the pattern; that's why we look at averages.

Right now NOAA's latest Oceanic Niño Index reading (Jun–Aug 2026) is +1.8°C: strong El Niño conditions. NOAA's outlook says how long it's expected to last.
El Niño speaks Hear what's in store from El Niño himself.

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