BOSTON – It may be September, but it’s time to talk about winter . And depending on how you feel about snow, there could be some good news for you in the long-range forecast for Massachusetts.
NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, released its winter seasonal outlook on Thursday. The federal agency’s maps are probability based and cover the months of December, January and February.
The temperature forecast favors above-average temperatures across the southern tier of the United States and for the entire East Coast.
NOAA’s precipitation forecast looks wetter than average across most of the northern states and drier than average across the south.
La Niña impact on winter forecast
The vast majority of this forecast was based on one factor, La Niña .
We are already seeing signs of a La Niña in the waters off of South America.