(Reuters) – La Nina conditions have developed, and there is an 87 percent chance of the weather pattern continuing through the December-February period, a U.S. government forecaster said last week.
The La Niña pattern is characterized by unusually cold temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.
“La Niña is anticipated to affect temperature and precipitation across the United States during the upcoming months,” the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center said in its monthly forecast.
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Last month, the weather forecaster had said the chances of La Niña conditions continuing through the winter were at 70 percent to 80 percent.
The center said the forecaster consensus also anticipates La Niña continuing through the winter, with ENSO-neutral conditions predicted to return in March-May 2022.
ENSO-neutral conditions refer to those periods in which neither El Niño nor La Niña are present, often coinciding with the transition between the two weather patterns, according to the center.
