El Nino this winter will leave a big wet but not necessarily snowy footprint on much of the United States – but won’t solve California’s drought crisis.

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration issued its official winter forecast and ‘the driver of this winter’s outlook is El Nino,’ said Mike Halpert, deputy director of NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.

However, forecasters say that although California is set for a wet winter, it won’t be enough to ease its drought crisis.

While it is good news that drought improvement is predicted for California, one season of above-average rain and snow is unlikely to remove four years of drought,’ said Halpert.

‘California would need close to twice its normal rainfall to get out of drought and that’s unlikely.’

El Nino changes weather worldwide, mostly affecting the United States in winter.

The weather pattern happens every few years when the Pacific Ocean warms up around the equator.

This year’s is one of the strongest El Ninos on record.

NOAA expects a cooler and wetter winter for the South.

For California, more precipitation than usual is expected during the critical time that its reservoirs usually fill, but there’s no guarantee.

Only northern tier states, the Ohio Valley states and Alaska should be dry.

While California’s drought is likely to lessen in January, even the wettest winter on record — 33 years ago — didn’t have enough rain to wash out the current four-year drought, said NOAA hydrologist Alan Haynes of the California Nevada River Forecast Center.

Forecasters see a milder, warmer winter north of the Mason-Dixon line and for all of California and Nevada.

Texas and the Deep South are forecast to be cold.

Overall, the nation should have 2 percent fewer days when people have to fire up their furnaces, said Halpert.

He said the Northeast, where it was chilly and snowy last year, should see 6 percent fewer heating days.

Because of El Nino, NOAA is more confident than usual that its forecast is on target — 70 percent for a wet South, Halpert said.

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SOURCE: Daily Mail, Mark Prigg