La Niña Is Over: Get Ready For Unpredictable VA Weather

VIRGINIA — After just a few short months of La Niña conditions, forecasters on Thursday said this past winter's weather phenomenon is over.

According to the Climate Prediction Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the combination of below-average temperatures weakening in the central Pacific Ocean and the westward expansion of very warm water in the far eastern Pacific helped to dissipate the cooler surface of La Niña.

Now, forecasters predict conditions will remain neutral in the Northern Hemisphere, including Virginia, through this fall.

“'ENSO-neutral' means that neither El Niño nor La Niña are in effect, and global seasonal conditions are less predictable," forecasters said in a blog post.

In October 2024, forecasters predicted La Niña would develop in the fall but would likely be a weak event. La Niña eventually developed in January, when below-average sea surface temperatures were recorded in the Pacific.

La Niña means the surface water is cooler than average, the trade winds are stronger and the central equatorial Pacific receives less rain. On the other hand, El Niño is represented by warmer surface water, weaker trade winds and more rain in the central and sometimes eastern Pacific.

La Niña typically brings less snow and drier-than-normal conditions to Virginia, especially along the coastal areas and the Interstate 95 corridor.

That was not the case this past winter, where Virginia received 5 to 10 inches of snow in a storm that hit in early January, closing schools for days. The state in general received more snow than normal this winter, according to The Weather Channel’s records.

Forecasters said ENSO-neutral is likely through the summer, which means Virginians could be in for some potentially wild weather.

“Without an El Niño or La Niña signal present, other, less predictable, climatic factors will govern fall, winter and spring weather conditions,” Bill Patzert, a climatologist formerly with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a NASA post.

Without a strong El Niño or La Niña to influence the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season — which starts June 1 — odds are fairly even on how active the 2025 hurricane season will be at its peak, which runs from mid-August to mid-October, CNN said.

Chances for El Niño or La Niña increase later in the year, forecasters said, with La Niña chances about double those of El Niño; however, neutral is still the highest probability through the early winter.

The neutral weather pattern means hurricane season in the East will depend on monthly and weekly variations in weather patterns that cannot be as reliably predicted as far in advance. The Washington Post reported. Early predictions of a busy Atlantic hurricane season carry more uncertainty than typical, forecasters said.

SEE ALSO:

• New 2025 VA Hurricane Forecast: Up To 5 Major Storms Predicted
• Snow Has Fallen In Every State This Winter: See How VA Totals Compare