La Niña will bring up to 32 inches of snow to New York City and worsen California droughts

La Niña has returned to the Pacific Ocean, bringing along drier weather to southern California, which had hoped for a wet winter to combat drought, along with loads of precipitation in the northeast.

This event is referred to a ‘double-dip La Niña’ because it formed a year after a previous system. 

Bob Larson, expert senior meteorologist for Accuweather, told DailyMail.com that the northeast will have a warmer winter, but it will endure above average snowfall.

‘The snowfall forecast for New York City is, on average, 29.8 inches, but our prediction is up to 32 inches,’ Larson said. 

It has an 87 percent chance of lingering until February 2022, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  

The northwest region is set to experience a wet season, while southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and parts of Utah and Colorado will be hit with a dry spell. 

Larson told Dailymail.com that the earliest signs of La Niña are expected to appear next week.

‘There is already evidence of this pattern and in a week to 10 days, we will see a storm slamming into the West Coast that will stay in northern California,’ he said. 

‘This could be a preview of what we could see this winter due to la Niña.’ 

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La Niña has returned to the Pacific Ocean, bringing along drier weather to southern California, which had hoped for a wet winter to combat drought, along with loads of precipitation in the northeast

La Niña occurs when stronger equatorial winds, blowing east to west, cool the Pacific Ocean in the tropical north of Australia. 

The northwest region is set to experience a wet season, while southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and parts of Utah and Colorado will be hit with a dry spell.  

Bob Larson, expert senior meteorologist for Accuweather, told DailyMail.com that the northeast will have a warmer winter, but be prepared for above average snowfall. 'The snowfall forecast for New York City is, on average, 29.8 inches, but our prediction is up to 32 inches, Larson said. (Pictured is a snow storm that hit Brooklyn on Feb. 1, 2021

Bob Larson, expert senior meteorologist for Accuweather, told DailyMail.com that the northeast will have a warmer winter, but be prepared for above average snowfall. ‘The snowfall forecast for New York City is, on average, 29.8 inches, but our prediction is up to 32 inches, Larson said. (Pictured is a snow storm that hit Brooklyn on Feb. 1, 2021

The northwest region is set to experience a wet season, while southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and parts of Utah and Colorado will be hit with a dry spell. Picture is the county of Santa Barbara Fire Department firefighters extinguish a roadside fire next to train tracks off of the U.S. 101 highway in Goleta, Calif on Oct. 14, 2021

The northwest region is set to experience a wet season, while southern California, Arizona, New Mexico and parts of Utah and Colorado will be hit with a dry spell. Picture is the county of Santa Barbara Fire Department firefighters extinguish a roadside fire next to train tracks off of the U.S. 101 highway in Goleta, Calif on Oct. 14, 2021

Although La Niña will be present for the next few months, it is predicted to be the strongest after January.

La Niña: The weather system that will bring dry conditions to the west and snow to the east

La Niña is characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific, compared to El Niño.

When trade winds, blowing from east to west across the Pacific, are strong, equatorial waters are cool, suggesting the arrival of La Niña.

The phenomenon tends to occur unpredictably every two to seven years. Severe occurrences have been linked to floods and droughts.

La Niña’s don’t always follow after El Niños, but based on historical records, it seems there is a chance that a strong El Nino is more likely to generate a La Nin

Mike Halpert, deputy director of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, said in a statement: ‘Our scientists have been tracking the potential development of a La Niña since this summer, and it was a factor in the above-normal hurricane season forecast, which we have seen unfold.

‘La Niña also influences weather across the country during the winter, and it will influence our upcoming temperature and precipitation outlooks.’

For the entire southern one-third of the country and especially the Southwest, a La Niña often means drier and warmer weather.  

The Ohio Valley and Northern Plains could be wetter and cooler. 

La Niña winters also tend to shift snow storms more northerly in winter while places like the mid-Atlantic often don´t get blockbuster snowstorms.

The cause of this event was due to lower than average sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, which also have the ability to shift.

‘We are concerned about the sea surface temperatures are changing, Larson said.

‘Waters are cooling in Alaska [which will bring the storm to northern California next week], but it could move south and bring much need precipitation to drought stricken southern California. 

‘But that is a wild card right now.’ 

In 2020, La Niña developed during the month of August and then dissipated in April 2021 as El Nino Southern Oscillation-neutral conditions returned.

La Niña, which occurs when stronger equatorial winds, blowing east to west, cool the Pacific Ocean in the tropical north of Australia, has an 87 percent chance of lingering until February 2022. Pictured is a model showing the system (blue) forming in the Pacific

La Niña, which occurs when stronger equatorial winds, blowing east to west, cool the Pacific Ocean in the tropical north of Australia, has an 87 percent chance of lingering until February 2022. Pictured is a model showing the system (blue) forming in the Pacific 

This event is referred to a ‘double-dip La Niña’ because it formed a year after a previous system. Pictured is a model showing the system (blue) forming in the Pacific

This event is referred to a ‘double-dip La Niña’ because it formed a year after a previous system. Pictured is a model showing the system (blue) forming in the Pacific

El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle is characterized by opposing warm and cool phases of oceanic and atmospheric conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean.

The 2020 La Niña unleashed the coldest temperatures in February 2021 – the lowest in seven years.

During February, the average temperature in the contiguous US was 30.6 F, or 3.2°F below the 20th century average.

But it was a different story for the whole winter season: in the Northern Hemisphere, December 2020 to February 2021 ranked as the eight mildest winter in more than 140 years of record keeping.

‘Below-average temperatures dominated much of the nation from the Northwest to the Great Lakes and south to the Gulf of Mexico,’ NOAA shared in a February statement.