"The strengthening El Nino event will influence the position and strength of the jet stream over the Pacific Ocean, which in turn will affect winter precipitation and temperature patterns across the country," said Michael Halpert, lead meteorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center.

"This event is likely to result in fewer cold air outbreaks in the country than would be expected to occur in a typical non-El Nino winter," he added in a statement on NOAA's website.

Spanish for "The Boy," El Nino is a weather pattern arising from the warming of the sea surface over the equatorial areas of the Pacific Ocean.

The phenomenon hits countries in the Pacific basin once every few years, sometimes with deadly results.

El Nino's last appearance in 1997-1998 helped trigger severe fires, rainfall and cyclones across America, Africa, Asia and Australia that killed 22,000 people. The price tag of those catastrophes was estimated at 34 billion dollars.

From this December to February 2007, 48 of the 50 US states could see an average two percent reduction in the number of days when Americans need to heat their homes.

Nonetheless, this next winter will be colder than the last, with an average of five to 10 percent more days when heating is needed.

Last winter was the fifth-warmest on record in the United States, with an average temperature of 2.4 degrees Celsius (36.3 degrees Fahrenheit).

The mildest winter on record came in 1999-2000, when the average temperature was 2.8 degrees Celsius (37 degrees Fahrenheit).

Related Links
NOAA Climate Prediction Center
Weather News at TerraDaily.com