Some of us are in for balmy weather this winter

If you live anywhere between Atlanta and Los Angeles, you might not need to bother getting out your winter coat. Federal weather forecasters announced Thursday that it's looking like it will be a pretty mild winter in that southwest stretch of the country, thanks to the beginning of La Niña. The La Niña weather pattern, which Time reported is "characterized by below-average temperatures cross the equatorial Pacific," means the American Southwest will largely see "warm and dry weather" this winter; unfortunately, that won't do much to assuage the region's persistent drought, which forecasters now say could spread to the southern plains.

Folks in the northern area of the Midwest and in the Northeast mid-Atlantic won't be quite so lucky with the balmy temperatures: Forecasters said Midwesterners in the northern part of the region should anticipate a "colder and wetter" winter because of La Niña. In the Northeast mid-Atlantic, winter should be business as usual.

With this year's unusually warm weather, Mike Halpert of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center said Americans should expect the unexpected. "[R]egardless of the outlook," Halpert said, "there is always some chance for extreme winter weather."

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