La Niña winter put on pause as January outlook features warmer, wetter weather

The first month of the new year is likely to be warmer and wetter than we've seen in the lower 48 so far this winter season, as the January weather outlook shows the La Niña winter that brought cold temperatures and snow taking a break. 

Instead of snow and bitterly cold temperatures like the country has seen so far, rain and warmer, above-average temperatures take over.

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The nation already got a preview of this setup in late December, with widespread record warmth and historic rainfall in California, and this pattern is likely to persist and expand in the weeks ahead, the FOX Forecast Center said. 

A more persistent dip in the jet stream across the Pacific and the West is driving the shift in weather, funneling a steady parade of storms into the West Coast. 

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Warmer air is expected to surge ahead of these storms, warming things up across parts of the lower 48. 

The first two weeks of the month show warmer temperatures and above-average precipitation for most of the country. 

The La Niña winter so far has created above-average snowfall for the season, breaking records.

Syracuse, New York saw their second-snowiest December day ever on Dec. 30, with more than 78 inches of snow so far in the 2025-26 winter season. 

In addition to the heavy snowfall, arctic air plunged temperatures across the country in November and December. 

Cold air stretched as far south as Florida in early November, leading to cold-stunned iguanas falling from trees as temperatures hit the 40s. 

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Arctic blasts of air combined with wind chills brought below-zero temperatures to much of the country in early December. 

The FOX Forecast Center said it's unclear how long the warmer and wetter temperatures will last beyond the first two weeks of January. 

There's a chance the country trends back into near-average conditions with a possibility of a La Niña winter pattern returning. 

If this does happen, the FOX Forecast Center said, temperatures are likely to return to below average in the Midwest and Northeast. 

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Unfortunately for parts of the West, this would likely keep the region stuck in above-average temperatures, which is far from ideal after a record-warm December. As a result, the Rockies are expected to continue falling further behind in terms of snowpack, deepening the existing snow deficit.

Only time will tell if we see a La Niña setup for the rest of the winter or if this is the name of the game leading into spring.