NOAA: Dry conditions likely to linger across NC during winter
Central and eastern North Carolina could be drier than average during the winter season, helping exacerbate abnormally dry conditions that already exist across much of the state, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association said Thursday in its annual winter weather outlook.
Posted — UpdatedRainfall from Tropical Storm Andrea ended abnormally dry conditions across the state in mid-June, but they have returned throughout the fall.
In terms of temperatures, forecasters said there are no large trends that point to warmer or colder weather for North Carolina.
Much of the upper Southeast and Mid-Atlantic falls into NOAA's so-called "equal chances" range for temperatures, which means there is an equal chance for above-, near- or below-normal temperatures.
Mike Halpert, the director of NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, said neither El Niño or La Niña will impact the climate during the upcoming winter.
“It’s a challenge to produce a long-term winter forecast without the climate pattern of an El Niño or a La Niña in place out in the Pacific because those climate patterns often strongly influence winter temperature and precipitation here in the United States,” he said in a statement.
“Without this strong seasonal influence, winter weather is often affected by short-term climate patterns. So it’s important to pay attention to your local daily weather forecast throughout the winter.”
NOAA did not provide any forecast for snowfall, and Halpert again pointed to more time-sensitive forecasts that are available days before a storm develops and moves across any part of the country.
• Credits
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
