This winter will be wetter and colder in the Northwest, forecasters say. Here’s why

What might 2020 have in store for the winter? It could be colder and wetter in the Northwest.

Experts with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted the northern Pacific Northwest will have “below-normal temperatures” and the region will have “wetter-than-average” conditions.

“NOAA’s winter forecast for the U.S. favors warmer, drier conditions across the southern tier of the U.S., and cooler, wetter conditions in the North, thanks in part to an ongoing La Niña,” NOAA said.

There is a 40% to 50% chance of cooler than normal temperatures across the northern part of the Northwest, and relatively milder temperatures stretching into the middle of Oregon and Idaho.

Droughts are over the western half of the U.S. now, but NOAA predicts that drought conditions will improve in the Northwest, according to the report.

“Forecasters at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center … are also closely monitoring persistent drought during the winter months ahead, with more than 45% of the continental U.S. now experiencing drought,” NOAA said.

In other parts of the country, including California, the drought could get worse in the coming months.

Most of the Pacific Northwest. however, has about a 40% chance of having a wetter than normal winter.

“With La Niña well established and expected to persist through the upcoming 2020 winter season, we anticipate the typical, cooler, wetter North, and warmer, drier South, as the most likely outcome of winter weather that the U.S. will experience this year,” Mike Halpert, deputy director of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, said.

This story was originally published October 15, 2020 at 6:00 PM with the headline "This winter will be wetter and colder in the Northwest, forecasters say. Here’s why."