At a Glance

The upcoming winter may be quite different temperature-wise in parts of the United States.There's a risk for a somewhat colder winter in the East, particularly early in the season.Generally, a mild winter is once again expected over much of the rest of the nation.

Winter 2016-17 may be colder in the East, but leftover warmth from the recent El Niño may dominate elsewhere in the U.S., according to an outlook released Friday by The Weather Company, an Business.

New England and Upstate New York may see a cooler-than-average December-February, while the rest of the Lower 48 states could experience yet another mild winter temperature-wise, said, chief meteorologist with The Weather Company.

(MORE: )

December 2016 - February 2017 temperature outlook from The Weather Company, an Business, released Fri. September 23, 2016.

Any colder-than-average air in the East may not persist long this winter, according to Crawford, thanks, in part, to the change to neutral or weak La Niña conditions in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

"The reversal of tropical forcing suggests that the coldest weather in the eastern U.S, may occur earlier in the winter, with increasing chances for warmth during the late winter," Crawford said in the release.

The regular cycle of sea-surface temperature anomalies in the Pacific Ocean can lead to shifting patterns of convection, which then help influence dominant weather patterns downstream over North America.

Contrasting with this chilly start to winter in the East is relatively high confidence in a warm December from the Plains to the West, particularly over the central and southern Rockies and Desert Southwest.

December 2016 temperature outlook from The Weather Company, an Business, released Fri. September 23, 2016.

January's outlook reflects the potentially warmer East.

"The expected lack of (atmospheric) blocking should result in the bulk of Arctic air sliding eastward, with only glancing blows into the eastern U.S.," Crawford said.

January 2017 temperature outlook from The Weather Company, an Business, released September 23, 2016.

"Blocking" refers to atmospheric patterns like the "Greenland block," an area of high pressure aloft over the north Atlantic Ocean near Greenland that helps Arctic air plunge and lock into the central and eastern U.S. at times.

A lack of such a blocking pattern would allow the coldest air to drain from west to east off Canada, or if it does plunge into the U.S., it would do so quickly and not lock in place for an extended period.

"Climate model forecasts for winter are unusually warm, likely reflecting the excess post-El-Nino global warmth, and another very warm winter is not out of the question due to this factor alone."

States shaded in red had a record warm December-February period in 2015-2016. States in orange were much above average during the three core winter months. The numbers signify state temperature rankings, with a ranking of 121 meaning it was the record warmest December through February period on record, while a 1 means it was the record coldest such period for that state. A ranking of 120, for example, means it was the second warmest December-February period in that state.

(NOAA/NCEI)

Winter 2015-2016 was the Lower 48's warmest December-February period in 121 years or records, according to NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information.

(RECAP: )

Thirty-six states had one of their top 10 warmest winters, and .

Interestingly enough, a phenomenon called "" may also have an influence on the winter ahead.

This area of anomalously warm water in the northern Pacific Ocean reappeared at the end of summer 2016.

Crawford's team looked for past winters with similar sea-surface temperature anomalies. Namely, they found analog winters with weak La Niña conditions that followed El Niño the previous winter as well as the warm North Pacific anomalies seen now.

One winter was the closest match: 1995-96.

That season was particularly cold from the northern Plains and upper Midwest to the East. However, Crawford said there was considerable atmospheric blocking in the higher latitudes, alluded to earlier, that played a considerable role.

This was at least partially a result of low sunspot activity, also known as a solar minimum. Since the 1970s, it is rare to see a winter with frequent blocking patterns when sunspot activity isn't near a minimum, which won't happen for another couple of years, according to Crawford.

Furthermore, the atmosphere still exhibits a warmth hangover from the record-tying strong El Niño of 2015-16.

Of course, none of this necessarily implies a winter without impactful winter storms.

Despite the notably warm winter, late January's was one of the heaviest snowstorms on record in several Eastern cities.

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Winter Storm Jonas - January 2016