NOAA calls for stormy winter across the northern U.S. but mild, dry weather elsewhere.
In many areas, the unpredictable polar vortex will determine the character and severity of the winter.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its winter outlook for the United States on Thursday, calling for a cold and stormy winter from the Pacific Northwest to the Great Lakes but relatively warm and dry conditions elsewhere.
The predicted warm, dry weather is bad news for the Southwest, which is in the midst of a severe drought. But the anticipated stormy conditions in the Pacific Northwest have a good chance of seeping into Northern California, improving the drought situation there. The storminess already battering this region is an encouraging sign for the winter.
The warmer-than-average forecast for much of the central and eastern United States fits into the long-term trend toward milder winters driven by human-caused climate change. But NOAA was careful to point out that cold, wintry surprises are possible because of the unpredictable behavior of the polar vortex.
Last winter, the polar vortex unleashed a historic, punishing blast of cold to the central states in February.
The pattern of temperatures and precipitation predicted by NOAA for this winter largely reflects typical conditions during La Niña events. La Niña conditions prevailed last winter and, outside the February cold snap, delivered average to above-average temperatures to a large portion of the Lower 48 states.
Last week, NOAA declared that La Niña had returned and that it should persist through the winter.'>>>
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/10/21/noaa-winter-outlook-lanina-snow/?
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It's glorious. I hope it continues through the season. But oh, the southwest. 
