A golden retriever races through the snow during a storm on March 14 in Boulder, Colorado.

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Mark Makela/Getty Images

Federal forecasters expect a La Niña climate pattern to form in the coming months, according to a report released Thursday that offers a potential view of what the weather could look like in the U.S. this winter.

The annual winter outlook report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center indicates that a La Niña event has a 60% chance of occurring in late November. La Niña is characterized by cooler than normal ocean temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, typically leading to drier and warmer conditions in the Southern Tier and cooler, wetter weather in the Northern Tier of the continental US.

This year’s La Niña is expected to be weaker and shorter in duration than those of previous years, making it somewhat difficult to predict months in advance.

What federal forecasters do know so far is that large parts of the South and East Coast are favored to see warmer-than-average temperatures this winter. According to NOAA, this is especially true for Texas and states along the Gulf Coast, such as Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The US Winter Outlook Temperature 2024-2025 Map shows the greatest chances for cooler than average conditions will be in the US Pacific Northwest

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NOAA

Meanwhile, cooler than normal conditions are more likely for the Pacific Northwest to the northern High Plains. That includes the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, western Minnesota and northern Wyoming.

There is also a chance that the Pacific Northwest and parts of Montana and Wyoming will see wetter than average conditions in the coming months. Areas in the Great Lakes region are also at risk for wetter than average conditions, with these chances highest in parts of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.

Farther south, states bordering the Gulf of Mexico, as well as Texas and southern New Mexico, are likely to experience drier than average conditions this winter.

NOAA also expects widespread moderate to extreme drought to continue across much of the Great Plains and parts of the Rocky Mountains. Droughts are also likely to develop or worsen on the Southwest and Gulf Coasts.

Meanwhile, the center said drought conditions are expected to improve — or even possibly end — in parts of the Ohio River Valley, the Great Lakes region and parts of the northwestern U.S. in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.