The Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, northern Rockies and Hawaii will be wetter than normal this winter, the agency predicted.

NOAA also forecast a weak to moderate La Nina weather phenomenon, which is marked by unusually cold temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific, during the 2006-2007 winter.

"La Nina is here, with a weak to moderate event likely to persist through the winter," said Michael Halpert, head of forecast operations and acting deputy director of NOAA's's Climate Prediction Center.

In the US., La Nina usually brings wetter weather to the Pacific Northwest and dryer warmer weather across the South.

"The big concern this winter may be the persistence of drought across large parts of the already parched South. And while December through February is likely to be another milder-than-average winter for much of the country, people should still expect some bouts of winter weather," Halpert added.

NOAA also predicted the following:

* above-average temperatures in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic in response to the long-term warming trend.

* milder-than-average weather in northern Alaska and above-average temperature and precipitation in Hawaii