(MENAFN- Live Mint) La Niña conditions have returned in the United States, but this time, they are expected to remain weak, prompting the Climate Protection Center to issue an advisory. In a post on X, the federal forecasters said that La Niña conditions are present and favored to persist through December 2025-February 2026.

The center said that La Niña conditions started to emerge in September 2025, as indicated by the expansion of below-average sea surface temperatures (SSTs) across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean.

“The latest weekly Niño-3.4 index value was -0.5°C, with other regions remaining at or between -0.1°C and -0.4°C [Fig. 2]. Negative subsurface temperature anomalies persisted (averaged from 180°-100°W; [Fig. 3]), with below-average temperatures prevailing from the surface to 200m depth in the eastern half of the equatorial Pacific,” it said.

What is La Niña?

La Nina is a naturally occurring climate pattern that cools surface temperature in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. Because of changes in vertical wind shear – the variation in wind speed and direction high in the atmosphere – La Nina tends to bring more hurricanes in the Atlantic basin and fewer in the Pacific.

It is a major factor influencing the US weather, particularly from late fall through early spring. It has often meant more precipitation – including possible snowstorms.

This time, La Nina is expected to persist through the winter, with a 55 per cent chance of transitioning back to neutral conditions between January and March 2026.

La Niña conditions started to emerge in September 2025

As the La Niña condition started to return, winds near the surface blew from the east, while winds higher up moved from the west over the western and central Pacific. Thunderstorm activity was stronger than usual around Indonesia but weaker near the Date Line.

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A weak La Niña this time?

The NWS added that this La Nina's predicted weakness“would be less likely to result in conventional winter impacts.”

“At this time, La Niña is expected to remain weak (3-month average Niño-3.4 index value at or between -0.5°C and -0.9°C). A weak La Niña would be less likely to result in conventional winter impacts, though predictable signals could still influence the forecast guidance,” it said.

(With agency inputs)

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