Climate scientists say the Pacific Ocean weather pattern known as La Niña is still in place — but it likely won’t last much longer.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, La Niña conditions continued through January, with cooler-than-normal ocean temperatures across parts of the equatorial Pacific. The Southern Rockies has seen a typical La Nina year thus far with warmer conditions and less precipitation.
But forecasters now expect the system to shift to what’s called “ENSO-neutral” sometime between late winter and early spring — meaning neither La Niña nor El Niño will dominate global weather patterns. That could bring more average precipitation to the Four Corners.
That neutral pattern is likely to stick around through the summer. Looking farther ahead, there’s about a fifty to sixty percent chance El Niño could develop later this year — though scientists say forecasts this far out are less certain.
These large-scale ocean patterns can influence weather across North America — affecting storms, temperatures, and seasonal outlooks — so forecasters will continue watching how the Pacific evolves in the months ahead.
