NOAA’S winter outlook issued Thursday; La Niña expected through winter

As La Niña is expected to remain for the third consecutive winter, NOAA, or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has issued its 2022 winter outlook.

The winter outlook was released through the CPC, or Climate Prediction Center, which is a sub-division of the National Weather Service.

Typically with La Niña, this favors a warmer-than-average temperature forecast for the southwest, through the Gulf Coast states, and the eastern seaboard. This winter outlook is forecast from December 2022 through February 2023.

Below is the forecast for expected temperatures and precipitation across the country over the winter months.

The US winter outlook for temperatures across the county highlights better opportunities for warmer-than-average temps from the Great Basin, southward through the southern plains, the desert southwest and extending into the deep south, the southeast and through the eastern seaboard. This also includes all of Florida.

On contrast, the outlook favors below-average temps from the Pacific Northwest, east to the Great Lakes and the northern plains.

The US winter outlook for precipitation across the country highlights wetter-than-average conditions through the Pacific Northwest, extending into the northern Rocky Mountain Range, through the Great Lakes, into the Ohio Valley and across areas in the northeast.

The greatest opportunities for drier than average conditions are expected from southern California, the desert southwest, through the southern Rockies, the southern Plains, extending through the Gulf Coast states and into the southeast, once again including all of Florida.

While these long forecasts have a chance for a busted forecast, the seasonal outlooks provide, through scientific research and observation, the highest likelihood of where the best chances for precipitation and/or warmer/cooler temperatures will occur through the winter months.

This also serves the purpose of predicting where the best opportunities for drought concerns may occur. This outlook, however, does not forecast expected snowfall/rainfall totals for any region of the country.

These seasonal outlooks also help provide insight to communities to prepare for what may be expected over the winter months to come.