El Niño winter forecast: See a map that shows which U.S. regions will get the most snow and rain

This year’s Super El Niño “looms large” over the winter forecast for the United States, forecasters from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) wrote this week. And for about half of the country, that’s shaping up to make for a wet winter. El Niño is a climate phenomenon defined by above-average sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, and a weakening of trade winds that flow from east to west. All those changes affect atmospheric conditions, disrupting global weather patterns. How will the phenomenon impact U.S. weather patterns? El Niños typically present with wetter conditions across the U.S. South, and drier than conditions farther north. The 2026-2027 U.S. Winter Outlook map for precipitation shows wetter-than-average conditions are most likely across the Southwest, South and East Coast. Drier-than-average conditions are forecast for parts of the northern Rockies and Great Lakes, and central Alaska. [Image: NOAA] A 2026-2027 Winter Outlook map from NOAA illustrates that, showing a wavy band cutting across the U.S. that will bring “above normal” precipitation to the southern half of the country. That band swings up to cover the entire California coast…

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