It's official: We're in a La Niña that could last through the winter

ATLANTA — La Niña is here and is forecast to last through this winter.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said a weak La Nina has formed and is expected to stick around for several months. La Niña is a natural cooling of parts of the Pacific that alters weather patterns around the globe.

We maintain our winter weather outlook for overall above-average temperatures and below-average precipitation.

Below-average precipitation doesn’t mean zero precipitation. It means the total amount of precipitation that we receive will all-around be below-average. Because of the overall warmer-than-average trend, precipitation that falls has a lower potential to be all snow; it will likely be a combination. We will still have weather systems that produce precipitation, and we’ll still have cold snaps. But the overall average will be warmer and drier.

Our team of Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologists will be monitoring the conditions throughout the winter.

"That said, I do expect cold snaps but they'll be 'snaps', not lasting very long," said Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Katie Walls.

The La Niña pattern also sets north Georgia up for better icing potential.

Last year’s La Niña was unusually brief, forming in November and gone by February. This one should hang around through at least March. While it may last a bit longer than last year’s La Nina, it should be just as weak, said Mike Halpert, deputy director of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.

Cox Media Group