The Climate Prediction Center issued its 2023-24 winter outlook on Thursday. A strong El Niño is expected to be the main driving force behind the overall pattern through the winter months.
Typically, during an El Niño, the northern half of the United States tends to be drier with above-normal temperatures. El Niño usually brings more active weather to the southern U.S. with temperatures staying near normal to slightly above normal.
The winter outlook closely follows what we typically see in an El Niño winter. Across New England, the winter forecast is for above normal temperatures December, January, and February.
That doesn't mean we won't have some rounds of cold air roll on through, but the overall average temperature is anticipated to above what we typically see during the winter months.
This year has been a very wet year for many areas across New England. However, during an El Niño winter, we usually see normal to slightly below normal amounts of precipitation.
The winter forecast is along those same lines with a typical amount of rain and snow. That would certainly be a drier pattern then we had for most of this year.
Remember, this forecast is an average of a span of three months. There will be extremes within this window!
