El Niño Shapes NOAA's Winter Outlook
NOAA just released its winter outlook, and one word dominates it: El Niño.
AI-narrated. Written with AI and checked against primary sources. Our standards
AI-narrated. Written with AI and checked against primary sources. Our standards
The story
NOAA's Climate Prediction Center says a strong-to-very-strong El Niño is likely to last through March, with better than an 83 percent chance. Ocean temperatures in parts of the eastern Pacific are running more than four degrees Celsius above normal.
That warm water nudges the jet stream south and east. For December through February, that tilts the odds toward a warmer winter across the northern U.S., from the Pacific Northwest through the Midwest and much of the East.
The southern tier, from California to Florida, and the East Coast lean wetter.
The southern tier, from California to Florida, and the East Coast lean wetter. Drought should ease across the Southwest, the Southern Plains and the Southeast, but it could worsen in the northern Rockies.
NOAA's weather service warns that heavy rain on dry ground can trigger flash floods and mudslides. These are odds, not promises.
Sources
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Image and footage credits: Lead image: NOAA · Public domain, U.S. Government work (NOAA/NWS: public domain unless noted) · NOAA · Public domain, U.S. Government work (NOAA/NWS: public domain unless noted) · Original Wunder News motion graphics with public-domain agency imagery.
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