The United States Northeast, the nation's top winter fuel consuming region, is likely to be significantly colder than usual in February, EarthSat Weather Services senior meteorologist David Streit told Reuters on Friday. The February forecast marked a revision to the private forecasting company's original outlook for a milder-than-usual U.S. winter, as defined by the December to February period, Streit said. EarthSat's overall winter outlook remains unchanged. The forecaster said in October it expected a slightly colder U.S. winter than last year and a slightly warmer winter than the 30-year norm (1971-2000). "The moderate El Nino that we've been seeing means a warmer-than-usual, or normal, (temperature) outlook for the eastern U.S.," Streit told Reuters. "But it looks like this El Nino will weaken and, for eastern U.S. in particular, this translates into a colder than normal scenario for February," he added. Streit said he expected the whole of February to be "significantly colder" than normal, based on the antipicated El Nino pattern.
