Mild but moist winter forecast for Midwest region

By The Associated Press

Published: November 21, 2008

WASHINGTON — Winter looks likely to be mild in the Midwest and dry in the Southeast, the government said Thursday.

Warmer-than-average temperatures are expected for the nation’s center, especially Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas, according to scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The administration’s Climate Prediction Center said above normal readings also are likely in an area from New Mexico, Colorado and Nebraska in the west to southeastern South Dakota and southern Wisconsin.

Most of Alaska is expected to be warmer than normal, as are the westernmost of the Hawaiian islands. The Big Island of Hawaii is expected to be cooler than usual for winter, which meteorologists define as December through February.

Turning to rain and snowfall, the outlook is for wetter than normal for the season in Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas.

Dryer than normal is expected the southeastern and Gulf Coast states, extending westward across Texas to New Mexico and most of Arizona. The strongest chance for unusually dry weather is in north Florida, southern Georgia and the coastal Carolinas, as well as along the southern New Mexico-Arizona border.

The rest of the country, including Alaska and Hawaii, have equal changes of wetter, dryer or normal conditions.

Because other patterns are harder to predict, Michael Halpert, deputy director of the Climate Prediction Center, said, "We expect variability, or substantial changes in temperature and precipitation across ... the country.”

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