The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted that certain portions of the United States will see warmer-than-average temperatures this winter.
Warmer-than-average temperatures are predicted to be experienced in the northern United States, according to a U.S. Winter Outlook issued by the NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.
From December 2023 through February 2024, the NOAA’s shared maps show a 50-60% possibility of above-average temperatures in northern California, Washington, Oregon, and Maine, as well as portions of New Hampshire, Vermont, Montana, Idaho, Hawaii and Alaska.
There is at least a 33% possibility of above-average winter temperatures throughout a wide expanse of the continental United States reaching underneath these locations.
Temperatures in the Central United States should be around average for the winter, and those in most of the rest of the country should be as well.
In June, the NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center made the first announcement that El Niño had arrived. Scientists have predicted that El Niño would affect winter weather for the first time in four years.
According to NOAA, the rising of the central/eastern Pacific Ocean’s ocean surface temperatures is a natural climatic trend known as El Niño, which may have far-reaching effects on weather and oceans across the globe.
On average, El Niño lasts nine to twelve months and happens once every 2 to 7 years. The effects of El Niño are at their peak in the winter.
El Niño often causes wetter conditions in the southern US and warmer temperatures in the northern areas of the United States throughout the winter.
The cold phase of El Niño, known as La Niña, also affects global climate.
In the equatorial Pacific, there also exists a neutral stage when the water is neither abnormally warm nor cold.
The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the collective name for all three phases occuring together.
Precipitation levels over average are forecasted for Florida, the Gulf Coast, and the Mid-Atlantic. Impacts caused by a subtropical jet stream are a major factor in the forecast for Florida. Storms near the East Coast, fueled by the pressure of the jet stream, may intensify into snowstorms, particularly in the Northeast.
