La Niña is expected to develop this fall, with a 66% chance of emerging from September to November, according to an update Thursday by the Climate Prediction Center. La Niña is a global climate pattern defined by unusually cool waters in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, typically leading to drier weather in Southern California. While sea surface temperatures in the region have been dropping in recent months, they are still near normal. When conditions are not in La Niña or El Niño, they are referred to as being in the “neutral” phase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).

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