75% chance of La Niña during 2022-23 winter season

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Central Indiana woke up to a taste of winter Tuesday morning with a few snowflakes flying.

Winter is only a short time away, and the Climate Prediction Center is now calling for a 75% chance of a La Niña winter in 2022-23 for the northern hemisphere.

Meteorological winter runs from December to February. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has yet to release its winter outlook for the 2022-23 season.

Under a normal La Niña winter pattern, a blocking high sets up over the Pacific Ocean and drags the jet stream across the middle of the U.S. This type of pattern normally brings wetter than normal conditions in the Midwest, including Indiana. Temperatures are a little trickier and can be more of a toss up in either direction depending on the year.

The La Niña pattern may sound familiar because the past two winters we have had this pattern in place. Of course last winter, central Indiana did not see much snowfall. However, precipitation-wise we did finish above average along with warmer-than-normal temperatures. The 2020-21 winter did not follow the traditional La Niña trend and ended with below-normal precipitation.

NOAA’s official winter outlook is expected to be released at 11 a.m. Thursday. It remains to be seen how much their prediction will line up to the traditional La Niña setup. Regardless, Storm Track 8 will bring you their latest prediction when it is released.