NOAA has released their winter outlook for the United States and the forecast hinges on La Niña, that cooler than normal Pacific water which tends to produce dry, warm weather for us. El Niño on the other hand brings in wetter, cooler winters. Here’s a look at the current sea surface temperature anomalies, and you can see that huge blue I’ve circled below:
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And computer models indicate that this phenomenon will last right through the winter into spring:
The NOAA forecast puts Texas squarely in the warm, dry category with a 60-70% chance for our winter to be warmer than normal and drier than normal:
Watch out for drought
Yesterday, the current U.S. Drought Monitor was released and you can see much of the west is in drought (thus, the wildfires) while our part of Texas is well-hydrated:
However, with the continuing dryness into winter, developing drought for the eastern half of our state is forecast:
Enjoy our “winter” weekend, especially tonight! A true fall front finally arrived!
Frank