A warm and dry winter is expected for most of Georgia and South Carolina including all of metro Aiken-Augusta. This is because the La Nina global weather pattern appears to be developing. La Nina winters are typically warmer than average for most of the country. La Nina winters are also typically drier than average for the deep Southeast.

La Nina is part of the global weather cycle El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO). With La Nina, ocean temperatures in the eastern Pacific are cooler than average. This decreases thunderstorm activity across the eastern and central topical Pacific. The jet stream moves further north over the continental United States; so fewer storms move over the deep Southeast. This means less rain for us.

Winter is usually the wet season for our area. If the forecast for a warm and dry winter is accurate, our drought will worsen this winter.

For more information about the long range winter forecast, please visit the Climate Prediction Center at: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long_range/lead03/off_index.html