In this photo provided by the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, snow is cleared away at the Mammoth Mountain resort (Picture: AP)

Winter is here — way earlier than it should be.

It’s dumped nearly three feet of snow over a 48-hour period in the Sierra Nevada mountains, with more on its way.

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That part of California has seen around 30 inches of snow since Wednesday. Parts of Oregon have been more. Some areas have seen dumps of up to five feet. It’s the highest snowpack on record this early in the season.

A cold front from the north has been met with milder conditions inland.


Weather experts say the early snow is a telling sign for how winter will play out nationwide.

The ski season is already here (Picture: AP)

This sort of weather doesn’t usually happen until later on in the winter (Picture: AP)

Rain is being slow to move southward this morning and is mainly in the Sierra Nevada so far. Much of the San Joaquin Valley will not see rain until later this afternoon and tonight. Snow level is currently above 9000 feet. #cawx pic.twitter.com/jXGBPoNZAg — NWS Hanford (@NWSHanford) November 16, 2017

The end of 2017, and start of 2018, is expected to be split between colder and wetter than average conditions in the northern states, depending on where you live.



But people down south will be treated to warmer and drier conditions than a normal winter would bring.

Forecasters say La Niña conditions have developed and have a 65 to 75 per cent chance of building throughout the winter. This would influence the weather conditions across the country.

A La Niña (not to be confused with the opposite, El Niño) happens when sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean drop to below average levels.

The cooling means more rains in the Pacific northwest and periods of below-average temperatures, while the south is warmer than usual.

Dr Todd Crawford, chief meteorologist with The Weather Company, said: ‘As is typical in La Niña base state winters, we expect the greatest risk of cold early in the winter in the eastern US, with the cold retreating towards the Pacific Northwest as the winter progresses.’