By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post
Winter in our part of the Great Plains looks to be a bit warmer than normal with parts of the area also a bit drier than normal.
That's the word from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center, which on Thursday issued its 2021 Winter Outlook. The outlook is for December through February.
For the second year in row, La Nina climate condition will be the force behind the forecast winter weather, the Climate Predicition Center noted.
All of Kansas has a 33-40 percent chance for above normal temperatures this winter, according to the winter outlook.
As for precipitation, much of Kansas, including our area, has an equal chance for either below-normal or above-normal precipitation. The southwest corner of the state is leaning toward a below-normal chance of precipitation, while a sliver of far southeast Kansas is leaning toward an above-normal chance for precipitation.
Drought is expected to develop across a wide swath of western and southern Kansas, while in far northwestern Kansas, drought conditions are expected to continue or worsen.
To read the Climate Predicition Center's U.S. Winter Outlook, click here.