By Clint Thompson
A weak La Niña weather pattern is expected any time now, according to a University of Georgia Climate Blog post from Pam Knox, University of Georgia Extension agricultural climatologist. She said the predictions are from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.
“The conditions are there, but they’re just not quite strong enough. One of the things about La Niña is that the water in the Pacific Ocean is colder than usual. Because there’s also this warming trend, those two tendencies are fighting against each other in the eastern Pacific Ocean,” Knox said.
“We haven’t quite gotten down to the threshold that we need to, to officially declare a La Niña. I think we’re like a tenth of a degree short. It has to last for a certain amount of time, because there’s variability in the ocean with waves that move through.
“We’re still expecting it to happen. It’s likely to be a weak one, which means it may only stick around for a few months. The strongest effects in a weak La Niña are in the southern part of Georgia. The northern part has less impact in a weak La Niña. But the southern part is still expected to be warmer and drier than usual. If you look at the week between Christmas and New Year’s, the whole country is going to be warmer than normal. I don’t think too many people are going to get a white Christmas this year.”
A La Niña this winter means weather conditions are expected to be warmer and drier than normal.