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(NEXSTAR) – The Climate Prediction Center’s official winter forecast has been released, and it splits the country in two: hot and dry in the south and mystery in the north.

The 90-day forecast was released Thursday morning by the Climate Prediction Center, part of the National Weather Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It gives people a rough idea of ​​what November, December and January will look like across the country.

The forecast is greatly influenced by the presence of La Niña, which forecasters recently said 75% were likely to remain through the winter months.

La Niña it tends to split the country in half, bringing a dry winter to the southern half and a wetter winter to the northern half.

You can see that pattern in the forecast map released Thursday (below): A coast-to-coast stretch of dry conditions is expected to affect the entire southern half of the US

While La Niña looks set to bring bad news to the already drought-stricken Southwest this winter, it’s a different story in the Pacific Northwest. La Niña winters tend to bring more precipitation, not less, to the region.

The rest of the country is a bit of a mystery. Each state shown in white on the map above has an equal chance of above-average precipitation and below-average precipitation.

When it comes to temperature, this year looks set to be a warm winter for many states, according to new NOAA forecasts. The West, South and Northeast have a good chance of above-average warmth between November and January.

The warmest conditions are expected in the southwest (Arizona, New Mexico and Texas).

If forecasters’ predictions come true and La Niña persists through January, it will be the third La Niña winter in a row — a rare phenomenon we’ve seen only twice since 1950. However, new research suggests Recurring La Niña years are becoming more frequent due to climate change.