SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO AM) - The monthly Central Region Climate update puts much of the upper Midwest in the cold and snowy range.
Acting South Dakota State Climatologist Laura Edwards says the best guess, however, also includes it's still too close to call.
Edwards says the extended outlook favors warmer than average temperatures for the central region states.
The October-December temperature outlook indicates an increased chance of above-normal temperatures for the majority of the contiguous U.S., including all of the High Plains region and especially across Colorado and southern Wyoming.
There are no areas of the contiguous U.S. with an increased chance for below-normal temperatures.
Edwards says La Nina is one variable impacting winter weather.
She says models favor above normal precipitation more likely for the northern Rockies which would bode well for spring runoff into the Missouri River headwaters.
Edwards says La Nina conditions traditionally mean a cool, wet spring the next year.