Dry and warmer-than-average winter expected in parts of U.S. with return of La Niña, NOAA says
CBSN
Climate pattern La Niña is returning for the second year in a row, bringing with it warmer-than-average temperatures and changes in precipitation patterns for many parts of the U.S. this winter, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday.
Forecasters at the NOAA's Climate Prediction Center said La Niña, which brings colder-than-average water to the central Pacific Ocean, could potentially prolong drought conditions in the western half of the country.
The Northern Plains and the Missouri River Basin are forecasted to have a severe to exceptional drought this winter, the NOAA reported. Drought conditions are expected in the Southwest and Southern Plains as well. The outlook also predicted that Southern California, the Southwest, Southeast and south-central Alaska will see less precipitation than average.
Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.