Temperatures across the U.S. will likely be warmer than average this winter but cooler than last year’s warm winter season, according to the latest predictions by meteorologists at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center. NOAA’s degree day forecast for December, January and February projects 2 percent warmer temperatures than the 30-year average, though temperatures should still be about 8 percent cooler than they were last year.
NOAA predicts warmer than average temperatures across much of the West, Southwest, Plains states, Midwest, parts of the Northeast and northern mid-Atlantic region and Alaska. Near average temperatures are likely for parts of the Southeast, while cooler than average temperatures are expected for Hawaii.
Precipitation in most of the U.S. is predicted to have equal chances of being below average, average or above average. The Southwest from central California to Texas, as well as Florida and the south Atlantic Coast, will likely see more than average precipitation. Drier conditions are predicted for the Ohio Valley, the northern Rockies and Hawaii.
