One of the Top Meteorologists in the Nation Gives a Masterclass on El Niño and La Niña and What it all Means for Montana

This week on the Montana Outdoor Podcast your host Downrigger Dale interviews quite possibly the smartest person you will ever see on the Montana Outdoor Podcast! Dr Johnna Infanti is one of the top weather scientists around. When you click here to watch or Click Here to Listen, you will learn that one of her many specialties is researching the climate patterns known as El Niño and La Niña. Those two opposing climate patterns can affect Montana’s weather in major ways. Sometimes with good results and others, well, not so good. One of those has been affecting Montana recently in a rather strange way. Which one is it? You will need to click here to watch or here to listen. Most everyone has noticed it, especially if you are an angler that has been wanting to get out on the ice but unfortunately has not found much to get on as well as those who have been wanting to play in the snow in the valleys. For most places in Montana there hasn’t been enough to make even a skinny snowman. So, what is in store for Montana for the rest of the winter? More of the same or is it true that big changes could be on the way?  Dr Infanti is the perfect person to ask because she just got done writing America’s latest Weather Outlook and on the podcast, she explains how it all will affect Montana. No, there will not be any spoiler alerts here, you are going to have to click here to watch or here to listen and get all the details. We can’t wait for you to find out!

Links:

• Dr Infanti gave out a ton of amazing information and she was kind enough to get us some links to get even more info. For example, you click here to go to Climate Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA.
• Click here to get the Monthly Weather Outlook. The next update will be on 1/31/26!
• If you would like to take a look at the Monthly Outlook interactive map to see what it looks like for specific areas you are interested in click here.
• Click here for the direct link to seasonal outlooks.
• For interactive seasonal outlooks click here.
• Click here for all seasonal outlooks.
• To go to the Climate Prediction Center’s El Niño and La Niña page click here.
• Click here to see the El Niño and La Niña forecast they talked about on the Podcast, it’s on slide 23.
• For the Climate Prediction Center’s Hazards Outlook page click here. That’s where you go to see where the snow, much below normal temps, and other wild weather is at! 
• Questions for Dr Johnna Infanti? Click here to email Rigger and he will track her down and get you the answers!

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