RAPID CITY, S.D. - Last winter, we experienced an El Niño season, and this year, we’ll be dealing with a weak La Niña. But what exactly is the difference between

An announcement that La Niña has formed could come soon. The climate pattern will play a major role in our winter weather.

The above forecast says La Niña will be weakening by late winter and over by late spring. Any storm track effects from the La Niña will be going away by late winter. Late winter is typically when La Niña exerts its strongest influence on our storm track.

Measurements indicate that a slowly developing La Niña will affect winter conditions in most of the country. There’s a 60% chance of it emerging somewhere between September to November, with the expectation that it will continue through March, according to the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center.

In its forecast for “meteorological winter,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that La Niña will make December, January and February colder and wetter than normal in several parts of the U.S., including Western Washington.

The La Niña event forecast for this winter may deliver more snow than usual to the Northwestern U.S. and dry, warm weather to the South.

That's according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's latest winter weather outlook for 2024-25, which says a "La Niña" winter is expected, which would ultimately result in a "wetter than normal" winter in the Great Lakes,