How El Niño could affect winter weather
NOAA’s winter outlook calls for warmer conditions across the northern U.S. and wetter conditions in the South and along the East Coast.
TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - El Niño could influence winter weather across the United States, bringing warmer-than-average temperatures to northern states and wetter-than-average conditions to the South and East Coast, according to NOAA’s U.S. Winter Outlook.
The El Niño-Southern Oscillation consists of cycles of warm and cool water in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. Those cycles change where ocean heat is released into the atmosphere, influencing circulation, temperatures, precipitation and other weather events.
El Niño and winter weather
El Niño is the warm phase of the cycle. It forms when sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific are at least 0.5 degrees Celsius above normal for five consecutive overlapping three-month periods.
El Niño has its largest effects on the Northern Hemisphere during winter. It typically brings milder weather to the northern United States and wetter conditions to the southern United States.
La Niña, the cool phase, usually brings cooler conditions to the Ohio Valley.
El Niño continues to strengthen, with a strong to very strong El Niño likely through the January-March period.
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