RALEIGH- The National Weather Service has issued its annual seasonal outlook for December through February.  For the folks hoping for a cold and wet winter season, it appears you are out of luck.

Darren Figurskey is a forecaster with the Weather Service’s Raleigh office.  He tells WCHL that there are two main factors, which are not present this winter that could bring us the cold and wet conditions.

“Without a real strong El Nino or La Nina pattern in place, that refers to the warming and the cooling of the waters in the Pacific, it can change jet stream patterns and can bring the strong probability of one type of weather or another during the winter months,” Figurskey says. “There’s not really a very strong signal this winter.”

He also says with these weather factors not around this year…the prediction is for a normal winter season.

“We are looking at likely a near normal winter time.  So that doesn’t mean we won’t get a bout or two of some pretty cold air and maybe the potential of some winter weather,” Figurskey says. “When you take the winter as whole, it could average near normal.  But that won’t mean we have a period that is warmer than normal conditions or a chance of wintery weather.”

Although the long-range prediction is for normal conditions, we are expecting very cold weather tonight with lows in the upper teens.  And there is a slight chance of some rain and snow Wednesday night.