The forecast for October-November-December indicates warmer-than-normal areas in the Southwest and southern Florida. Cooler-than-normal conditions will be seen in North Dakota, northeast Montana, and northwest Minnesota.

In November-December-January, the warm area in the Southwest expands into southernmost California, and the southern portions of Nevada, Utah, and Louisiana. Southern Florida remains warm. The cool region expands to cover North and South Dakota, eastern Montana, and northern Minnesota.

The December-January-February outlook shows about two-thirds of the country warmer than normal. From southern California to southern New England, all the territory below that line will be warm. (This warmth is expected to continue into the next time period.)

The only colder-than-normal area will be western Washington and northwest Oregon.

But it will be a wet one

The precipitation forecast for October-November-December shows a lot of moisture. The Northwest, northern Plains, Great Lakes, and the Ohio and Tennessee Valley areas will be wetter than normal. Arizona and southernmost Texas will be dry.

Looking at November-December-January, the Northwest and much of the northern Plains remain wet along with the easternmost Midwest states, pushing into western Pennsylvania and New York. A dry area extends along the southern portions of the Southwest and Southeast.

In December-January-February, greater-than-normal precipitation is indicated for much of the Northwest, North Dakota, Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, and the rest of the Great Lakes area, down into the Ohio and Tennessee Valley. A dry area remains over Arizona, most of New Mexico, southwest Texas, and the eastern tip of Louisiana up to the eastern Carolinas.

Note that once you are within the time period of an outlook, short- and medium-range forecasts and climate observations should be considered.