La Niña has arrived, will likely stick around through early 2022

A man with an umbrella walks in the rain.
(Image credit: Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images)

La Niña conditions have returned, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday, and will likely stay around through the winter.

La Niña is a weather pattern marked by cooler sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. It usually brings colder temperatures and more rain to the Pacific Northwest and northern Plains and drier and warmer conditions in the South and Southwest — unwelcome news for drought-stricken California.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.