(NEXSTAR) – Sick of the summer heat? The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has got some bad news for you.
The agency released its 90-day forecast Thursday, predicting the broad weather conditions we expect to see around the country between September and November. For the vast majority of the country, it’s looking like a hot summer will transition into a warm fall.
The Northeast and Southwest have the highest chances of seeing above-average temperatures this fall, according to NOAA.
No states are expecting a colder-than-average fall season, but a swath of the Midwest and Plains states have equal chances of warm or cool weather.
For some states, those hot temperatures are expected to be paired with clear skies – or at least few rain clouds. Only the Southeast and Alaska are expecting above-average precipitation. Meanwhile, the Pacific Northwest, Great Lakes and part of the Southwest are expected to get less rain than usual.
For most U.S. states, it’s a roll of the dice – there are equal chances of average rain, below-average rain, and above-average rain.
The National Weather Service said there’s a 99% chance El Niño will stick around through fall and a 95% chance it will last through early next year.
We will likely start to feel El Niño’s impacts more as we get closer to winter, when the strength of the phenomenon is expected to peak.
El Niño usually means a wet winter for the southern third to half of the United States, including California. (Exactly where that dividing line falls varies from year to year.) Meanwhile, the Pacific Northwest and parts of the Ohio Valley tend to be dry and warm.
