NOAA has declared that a La Niña is underway. This cool weather event is likely to be shorter and weaker than usual, but will still affect global weather and climate.

La Niña is finally here. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that conditions have officially formed to declare the weather event. The post NOAA: La Niña Conditions Have Officially Emerged first appeared on The Inertia.

La Niña is usually associated with drier conditions across the southern part of the U.S. and wetter conditions to the north. This reflects how La Niña is associated with a more poleward-shifted jet stream that deflects the storm tracks to the north (both Emily and Tom have written some nice explainers).

La Niña has finally materialized. Here’s what that means for South Carolina weather and snow during the rest of the winter.

La Niña is one phase of this cycle, characterised by cooler-than-average sea surface temperatures in the east-central Equatorial Pacific. The opposite end of this sea surface temperature swing, El Niño, features warmer-than-average surface water.

In the January to March 2025 quarter, warmer than normal average temperatures are expected (0.5 °C to 1.0 °C, in the Pacific slope and Central Valley; as well as between 0.25 °C to 0.5 °C in the Caribbean slope and northern zone (Eastern and Western).

A long-awaited La Nina has finally appeared, but the periodic cooling of Pacific Ocean waters is weak and unlikely to cause as many weather problems as usual, meteorologists said last Thursday. La Nina,

Several ski resorts in B.C. are thriving despite a delayed La Niña, which was expected to bring cooler temperatures and greater precipitation to mountains throughout the province.

A La Niña winter just started, but it isn’t expected to last long. National forecasters are already looking ahead to the spring season.

NOAA predicts La Niña to persist until spring 2025 Event likely to be weaker and shorter than typical La Niñas Global weather patterns, including hurricanes, could still be affected

The mountains and foothills of Los Angeles County are in “extreme drought” conditions, about 36% of the county, explained Pugh. That’s one category shy of hitting the highest level, “exceptional drought,” and three higher than the lowest, “abnormally dry.” The rest of the county is in severe drought.

Drought conditions are spreading across much of the state, including severe drought in 11 eastern North Carolina counties.