Weather Explainers

Weather Words: La Niña

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La Niña is a natural climate pattern that occurs when trade winds are stronger than normal. It sends warmer water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean along the equator toward Asia, and cooler-than-normal water temperatures are present along the west coast of the Americas.

La Niña (and its counterpart El Niño) impacts weather patterns all over the world.

(MORE: On Today's Date: A Massive Lake-Effect Snowstorm)

A "La Niña Watch" has been issued, which means there’s a better-than-average chance it will form by the end of December, according to an update released by NOAA last week. However, the expected La Niña is predicted to be rather weak and therefore won't bring as many impacts to the U.S. this winter.

During a typical La Niña winter, temperatures tend to be colder than average in the north-central U.S. The South often sees above-average temperatures, but there will still be periods of colder weather.

La Niña usually brings wetter-than-average conditions during winter to the Pacific Northwest and Ohio Valley, while the nation's southern tier tends to skew drier. Of course, every season has its variability, but La Niña can influence the overall weather patterns.

Jennifer Gray is a weather and climate writer for weather.com. She has been covering some of the world's biggest weather and climate stories for the last two decades.

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