According to AccuWeather chief long-range forecaster, Joe Bastardi, much of the U.S. will experience a very warm winter, with only the Northwest receiving average or above average cold and snow.
“November into December and March and April will be closest to what we consider winter weather, with the chance of cold and snowy conditions. But once we’re into the heart of winter, from mid and late December into February, we may see one of the top-10 warmest winters ever recorded for the southeastern U.S.,” Bastardi says, adding that the core of the warm weather will be centered over the Tennessee Valley and the Carolinas.
In fact, the 2007-08 winter may be as warm as the winters of 1998-99 and 2001-02, both warmer-than-average seasons. “More than 75% of the days this winter may have temperatures above normal in most of the nation, southeast of a line that runs from the Great Lakes to the Southwest. Only the Pacific Northwest should experience cooler-than-normal temperatures,” Bastardi says.
AccuWeather.com believes that the combination of what may be a top-five La Niña event combined with a cycle of warming water temperatures in the Atlantic are the key signals to the coming winter season.