From CNN Correspondent Charles Zewe

ASPEN, Colorado (CNN) -- Fall's first snows are already dusting the Rockies, where forecasters think El Niño will bring intense blizzards.

"I'm not really gearing up to close up the house and battening down the hatches for the cold, but I am contemplating putting snow tires on both my cars," said Mike Baker, a forecaster with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Overall, there will be fewer zero-degree cold snaps in the region, but storms riding the southern jet stream will pack a punch. That is because, said NOAA Climate Diagnostics Center director Randall Dole, "those will be very moist systems capable of producing copious snowfalls in the areas that they do hit."

The last big El Niño in 1982 dumped 24 inches of snow on Denver in 24 hours. Heaviest snow this time is forecast for the southern Rockies and New Mexico.

But in the central and northern Rockies, forecasters are saying snowfall could be below normal -- and that could mean bad things for resort owners. Ski lifts in the area are ready, and shops are stocked. But the last time El Niño hit here there was so little snow that the Keystone Ski Resort had to close down for a time.

"We will have to step (up) our snow grooming efforts," said Gary Dutmers of the Keystone Resort. "Take the snow that we do have, work it, spread it out, cover up thin areas."

Excessive precipitation could cause mudslides, blocking roads. In the mountains, there could be danger for skiers.

"I think the potential for avalanches is going to be much, much greater," said Knox Williams, director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

At the largest Ford four-wheel drive dealer in the U.S., El Niño fear has spiked sales.

"People like to have the freedom to go when they want to go and being caught for two, three, four, five days they don't like," said Roy Boyer of Courtesy Ford.

Across Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, it's been raining more than usual in recent weeks -- and it could stay that way all winter.

On the upside, in the Midwest tornado belt this coming spring, experts say El Niño's upper level winds could help shear off the storm systems that would normally give birth to tornadoes.

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Weather: Keystone, Colorado City Guides and Maps: Colorado

Related story:

• CNN Special Section: El Niño Returns

Related sites:

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admistration
  • NOAA/PMEL/TAO El Niño Theme Page
• Colorado Avalanche Information Center
• Bibliography on El Niño / El Niño and Flooding
  • El Niño / El Niño Links

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