There is a 71 percent chance of La Ni\u00f1a affecting the climate from October to December 2025, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center said in an update.<\/p>\n
NOAA said a transition to La Ni\u00f1a is “likely in the next couple of months” from an El Ni\u00f1o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-neutral, the phrase of ENSO where ocean temperatures and atmospheric conditions in the tropical Pacific are at neutral temperatures and neither El Ni\u00f1o nor La Ni\u00f1a is present.<\/p>\n
Newsweek has contacted the National Weather Service outside of regular working hours via email for comment.<\/p>\n
Why It Matters<\/p>\n
La Ni\u00f1a is part of the naturally occurring global climate pattern, ENSO, and acts as an opposite to El Ni\u00f1o, and both can have profound impacts on American weather and climate.<\/p>\n
The two phrases mean “the little girl” and “the little boy” in Spanish, La Ni\u00f1a typically causing eastern Pacific water to become colder than usual temperatures, and El Ni\u00f1o causing the sea temperatures to be warmer than average.<\/p>\n
This means that La Ni\u00f1a typically brings drier, colder weather, with strong winds, which can lead to drought in some regions and also a more severe hurricane season. El Ni\u00f1o brings heavy rainfall, with increased risk of flooding, and warmer temperatures.<\/p>\n
![\"Heavy](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/heavy-snow-winter.jpg\")
\nFile photo: Heavy snow falls as a person walks along U.S. Route 42 in Florence, Kentucky on January 6, 2025.
\nFile photo: Heavy snow falls as a person walks along U.S. Route 42 in Florence, Kentucky on January 6, 2025.
\nCarolyn Kaster\/AP
\n What To Know<\/p>\n
The NOAA said that sea temperatures remained near-to-below average in August 2025 across the central and eastern Pacific ocean, which indicated that currently the climate was in the ENSO-neutral phase of the weather pattern, alongside other climate-related metrics.<\/p>\n
However, the agency said “all available models from the North American Multi-Model Ensemble favor La Ni\u00f1a to emerge and persist through the winter.”<\/p>\n
Chances of La Ni\u00f1a decrease to 54 percent in December 2025 to February 2026, but for the autumn to winter of 2025, the climate shift is “favored” in predictions, NOAA said.<\/p>\n