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.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.