Palm Springs Winter Forecast: Above average rain (yay!), hotter than normal temps (boo!)

(Instagram / @bradyspear)

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is out with their forecast for the winter and there is some good news (rain!) and some bad news (warm temps) in store for Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley.

Forecasters with the NOAA are calling for a 70 to 75 percent chance of an El Nino developing, which would bring the above average temps and precipitation to the region.

“We expect El Nino to be in place in late fall to early winter,” Mike Halpert, deputy director of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center said in a news release. “Although a weak El Nino is expected, it may still influence the winter season by bringing wetter conditions across the southern United States, and warmer, drier conditions to parts of the North.”

The agency says that an El Nino will bring warmer-than-normal conditions across much of the western United States, as well as Alaska and the Northern Plains. Meanwhile, the Southeast, Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic could all see temps below normal.

As far as the rain goes, above average totals could be see not only in the Southwest, but also the Mid-Atlantic, and portions of the Southeast. Those in the northern Rockies and Northern Plains, Great Lakes and northern Ohio Valley are expected to be drier than normal.

Will the forecast hold?  We’ll find out soon enough, but you might want to change out those wiper blades now, just in case.