Once the "Godzilla El Niño" ended this past spring, most meteorologists were expecting a La Niña by this fall or winter.
Now, it appears meteorologists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are ditching that expectation and looking for what's called ENSO neutral — or more normal conditions.
Those initial expectations were from looking at past big El Niños like 1982-83 and 1997-98, both of which were followed by major La Niña events.
The most recent El Niño appears to be different.
Atmospheric conditions and forecast models show a better chance of ocean temperatures remaining closer to that neutral mark than dropping to that La Niña threshold.
So what does all of this mean?
It means a return to "normal" conditions and more typical fall and winter seasons.
