Even though fall has just begun, meteorologists are already forecasting winter with El Nino.
El Nino, a warmer-than-normal eastern equatorial Pacific surface ocean temperature, affects weather worldwide, including the US.
Warm oceans shift the Pacific jet stream, allowing warmer-than-normal air to enter North America.
El Nino usually hits the US in late fall and early winter and lasts until early spring.
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El Nino winters are warmer than average in the northern U.S. because the polar jet stream stays north and keeps cold air in Canada.
The active subtropical jet, driven by warm, moist Pacific Ocean air, makes the South wetter than usual.
Temperatures will be above average across the northern U.S., from northern California, Oregon, and Washington to Pennsylvania, New York, and New England.
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