First signs of a La Niña winter appear in this unusual snowfall pattern

While parts of the West are seeing a snow deficit this season, that hasn't been the case in snowy New England. Blame the storm track and climate troublemaker La Niña, AccuWeather says.

The normally very snowy central and southern part of the Rockies have seen far less snow than the mountains of northern New England, which is unusual.

"This configuration of snowfall amounts so far is a result of the storm track; it has favored more northern-tracking storms than southern-tracking storms," AccuWeather meteorologist Chad Merrill told USA TODAY via email.

"This is a signature feature of the beginning of a La Niña winter," he said, "with a stronger northern branch of the jet stream as opposed to a stronger southern jet stream."

For example, Denver has yet to see its first inch of snow while Burlington, Vermont, has tallied 6.5 inches of snow through Nov. 20, the National Weather Service said.