La Niña No Longer Seen as Likely This Winter
La Niña may not happen after all. Federal climate scientists on Thursday dialed back their forecast for the influential weather pattern that is sometimes associated with dry years in parts of the Americas, including California — where another winter of scant rain could wreak havoc on the drought-plagued state.California saw near-normal precipitation in most places last winter, but the state is still wrestling with the fallout from an unprecedented four-year dry spell before that. Water supplies are only beginning to recover, and many farmers and small towns still face restrictions while fish and forests continue to languish.
