La Nina Officially Declared

The Climate Prediction Center has officially declared the U.S. is in a La Nina pattern.

USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey said the La Nina declaration came after significant coupling between the atmosphere and the ocean.

“What that means is the water has turned cooler than average across the Central and Eastern equatorial Pacific, but most importantly from a weather perspective is that the atmosphere above it and near it is responding to that cool water.”

The Climate Center also noted that La Nina is expected to stick around.

Rippey said he’s seen obvious effects of La Nina.

“Two of them have been the wetness in the Northwest and the dryness and the warmth across the Southern United States. Those are both classic La Nina impacts that we expect to see from the fall through the following spring.”