How La Niña Might Change U. S. Winter Weather

This winter, there's a good chance that La Niña will have an impact on the U. S. weather. This weather pattern usually brings warmer and drier conditions to the southern states, while the northern regions experience more rain and cooler temperatures. The National Weather Service predicts a 60% chance of La Niña happening between November and March. La Niña is the opposite of El Niño, which brought the warmest winter on record last year. It's caused by cooler sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. This change in temperature shifts the jet stream, which controls the weather. As a result, the southern U. S. might see less rain, while the Pacific Northwest and Canada could face heavy flooding. Some parts of the country might get hotter than usual. These include the Southeast, Southwest, and some states in the Great Plains and Mountain West. On the other hand, the Pacific Northwest, Midwest, and Northeast could get more rain than normal. La Niña can also make hurricane seasons more severe in the Atlantic. It does this by creating an area with low vertical wind shear, which allows more hurricanes to form and makes them stronger. Last winter was the warmest ever in the U. S. because of El Niño. Many states, like North Dakota and New York, hit record high temperatures. La Niña and El Niño happen every few years as part of a climate pattern called El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). They both result from changes in winds and sea surface temperatures in the Pacific. However, their occurrence is unpredictable. Climate change might make these events more frequent and intense.