Europe could experience a relatively mild winter again this year, despite La Niña conditions that usually bring colder conditions to the northern hemisphere, the Weather Company said in its winter outlook on Thursday.
The Weather Company, owned by IBM, provides weather forecasts aimed at the commodities and energy markets.
There has been a distinct lack of cold weather in the last seven years in winter, especially across northern Europe, The Weather Company said.
"The most recent climate model resembles the last seven winters and implies another wet and windy winter across northern Europe, despite La Niña," the Weather Company's chief meteorologist Todd Crawford said in a briefing.
"Even with the relatively warm current forecast, we expect it to be nothing like last year's record warmth across much of the region," he added.
A U.S. government weather forecaster earlier this month said there was an 85% chance of La Niña conditions continuing through the upcoming Northern Hemisphere winter.
Southern Europe could experience wetter and windier weather than the last couple of years with lower pressure, especially in December and January. In the north, wet and windy weather was expected in January, The Weather Company said.
There were still some risks on the colder side and the firm said it would need to monitor patterns closely before giving its final winter outlook update next month.
(Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Alex Richardson)
