Climatologist says Ind. could face tough winter

INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana residents who slogged through last year's icy, snowy winter may be facing a repeat of that icy blast in the coming months.

Associate state climatologist Ken Scheeringa says the same La Nina weather pattern that brought Indiana a cold and snowy winter last year appears poised to return this winter. La Nina occurs when the central Pacific Ocean around the equator cools by at least 1 degree below normal.

Last year, La Nina combined with a warming of the ocean around Iceland and Greenland called the North Atlantic Oscillation to make Indiana's winter particularly long and cold.

Scheeringa tells The Indianapolis Star those two weather patterns appear as though they could repeat again this winter.

He says, "When they join forces, they make us very miserable."