Meteorologists predict dry Colo. winter

DENVER, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Forecasters in Denver stick with their predictions of a dry winter despite blasts of snow between December and mid-January.

One top federal forecaster admitted that the string of major storms over the past six weeks caught him off guard, but said that a strong La Nina effect is likely to keep the state mostly dry through March.

"I'm sticking with my forecast, except that I acknowledge I have some egg on my face," said Klaus Wolter, a meteorologist affiliated with the University of Colorado and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Wolter's prediction applied to the January-March period only, not December, a point he said he didn't make clear enough previously.