NOAA forecast predicts warmer than normal winter on East Coast and southern states
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, released its temperature and precipitation outlook for the winter months ahead; December, January and February.
A developing La Niña is a big driver this season. Cooling in sea surface temperatures in the equatorial eastern Pacific Ocean will impact weather around the world, especially in North America during the winter months.
Here's an outlook for the 2024/2025 winter season.
Winter outlook
There is higher chances of seeing warmer than normal winter for the entire East Coast -- from Florida to Maine.
Mmost of the South and the Southwest will have a higher chance of seeing warmer than normal temperatures from Georgia to Texas and west into Southern California.
NOAA forecasts colder than normal conditions from the Pacific Northwest, the northern Rockies and the northern Plains.
With colder weather, the Pacific Northwest and the northern Rockies could see more mountain snow this winter.
More than average snowfall is possible for the Great Lakes, especially in Wisconsin and Michigan.
There is a chance we could see big lake effect snow events in western New York.
It could be snowier than a typical winter for Chicago and Detroit.
Most of the South and the Southwest will be below normal for precipitation. There is a higher chance of seeing a drier than normal winter from Florida to Arizona.
As a result, NOAA forecasters, in collaboration with the National Integrated Drought Information System, or NIDIS, expect drought conditions to persist and worsen across the central and southern Plains of the U.S.
"Unfortunately, after a brief period in the spring of 2024 with minimal drought conditions across the country, more than a quarter of the land mass in the continental U.S. is currently in at least a moderate drought," said Brad Pugh, operational drought lead with NOAA's Climate Prediction Center. "The winter precipitation outlook does not bode well for widespread relief."
As for the Northeast, and the I-95 corridor, Washington D.C., Philladelphia, New York and Boston, will be near normal snowfall this winter, meaning there is a better shot than last two years of seeing measurable snow.
