The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its U.S. Winter Outlook. Beginning in December and running through February 2023, NOAA predicts drier-than-average conditions in the South with wetter-than-average conditions in the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes, northern Rockies, and the Pacific Northwest.
The agency says widespread extreme drought continues in much of the West, the Great Basin, and the central-to-southern Great Plains. Drought will impact the middle and lower Mississippi Valley this winter. Drought will also develop in the South-Central and Southeastern U.S., while drought conditions should improve across the Northwest U.S. in the months ahead.
This year, La Niña returns for a third-consecutive winter, which will drive warmer-than-normal temps in the Southwest, along the Gulf Coast, and through the Eastern Seaboard.
NOAA says drought conditions are now present in 59 percent of the country, and parts of the Western U.S. and southern Great Plains will get hit hardest this winter.
(From the National Association of Farm Broadcasters)
U.S. Winter Outlook: Warmer, drier South with ongoing La Nina
Drought to persist in Great Plains, parts of West and expand
(NOAA/Oct. 20, 2022) — This year La Niña returns for the third consecutive winter, driving warmer-than-average temperatures for the Southwest and along the Gulf Coast and eastern seaboard, according to NOAA’s U.S. Winter Outlook released today by the Climate Prediction Center — a division of the National Weather Service. Starting in December 2022 through February 2023, NOAA predicts drier-than-average conditions across the South with wetter-than-average conditions for areas of the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes, northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest.
“The hardworking forecasters at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center produce timely and accurate seasonal outlooks and short-term forecasts year-round,” said Michael Farrar, Ph.D., director of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction. “NOAA’s new supercomputers are enabling us to develop even better, more detailed forecast capabilities, which we’ll be rolling out in the coming years.”
NOAA forecasters, in collaboration with the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), continue to monitor extreme, ongoing drought conditions that have persisted in the Western U.S. since late 2020, as well as parts of the central U.S. where historic low-water conditions are currently present.
“Drought conditions are now present across approximately 59% of the country, but parts of the Western U.S and southern Great Plains will continue to be the hardest hit this winter,” said Jon Gottschalck, chief, Operational Prediction Branch, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. “With the La Niña climate pattern still in place, drought conditions may also expand to the Gulf Coast.”
Temperature
- The greatest chance for warmer-than-average conditions are in western Alaska, and the Central Great Basin and Southwest extending through the Southern Plains.
- Warmer-than-average temperatures are also favored in the Southeastern U.S. and along the Atlantic coast.
- Below-normal temperatures are favored from …..