NOAA's annual winter forecast is here - These are the weather predictions for your area

According to a report released Thursday, federal meteorologists expect a La Niña climate pattern to emerge in the coming months -- and with it a possible picture of what U.S. weather might look like this winter.

The annual winter forecast report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center says there's a 60 percent chance of a La Niña event forming by the end of November. La Niña is characterized by cooler-than-normal ocean temperatures in the Pacific, which typically leads to drier and warmer conditions in the south and cooler and wetter weather in the north of the continental United States.

This year's La Niña is expected to be weaker and shorter-lasting than in years past, making forecasting months in advance a bit difficult.

What meteorologists know so far is that large parts of the South and East Coast can expect warmer than average temperatures this winter. According to NOAA, this is especially true for Texas and the states along the Gulf Coast, such as Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi.

The Pacific Northwest to the northern High Plains has a higher chance of cooler than normal conditions. This includes the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, western Minnesota and northern Wyoming.

There is also a chance that the Pacific Northwest and parts of Montana and Wyoming will experience wetter than average conditions in the coming months. The Great Lakes region is also at risk of wetter than average conditions, with the likelihood being greatest in parts of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.

Further south, the Gulf of Mexico states, as well as Texas and southern New Mexico, are likely to experience drier-than-average conditions this winter.

NOAA also expects widespread moderate to extreme drought to persist across much of the Great Plains and parts of the Rocky Mountains. Drought is also likely to develop or worsen in the Southwest and Gulf Coast.

In parts of the Ohio River Valley, the Great Lakes region, and parts of the northwestern United States in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, however, the drought is expected to improve or possibly even end.