Gotta love a La Niña! In a December story in Iowa Farmer Today, State climatologist Justin Glisan talked about what the weather forecast should be like this month. He's expecting February to be a little below normal for temps with a little above average precipitation.

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Looking forward to warmer weather?

La Niña (Spanish for "little girl") is described as a "cold event" that causes temps in the Southern U.S. to be a bit warmer than normal and cooler in the Northern states, due to the jet stream pushing northward across the plains. It begins in the Pacific ocean where strong winds will push warm surface water towards Asia, letting the cooler water rise and push eastward, toward the U.S. That forces the jet stream more northward, forcing warmer air south and lowering normal temps in the north. That also allows other weather events like the "polar vortex" everyone loves, to dip much more southerly, into the midwestern states.

Normally with a La Niña, the west coast sees warmer temperatures and higher amounts of rainfall but this hasn't been the case so far.

Meteorologist, Brian Smith, with the National Weather Service in Valley, Nebraska is in agreement with Glisan.

As Spring arrives, Smith expects wetter conditions, which makes planting tough. That could possibly delay farmers getting into the fields in Eastern Iowa, compared to the Western side of the state.

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With more moisture, higher chances of severe weather may possibly impact all of Eastern Iowa. Strong storms, flash flooding, and tornadic activity can all come into play towards the end of March and into April.

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