SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal forecasters don’t expect a return of frequent cold blasts from the polar vortex this winter. Nor should the weather system that blocked rain from California last winter come back.

Mike Halpert of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says this winter looks pretty average in general. He doesn’t expect a lot of extreme conditions like last year’s cold outbreaks when Arctic air dipped south with the polar vortex.

His agency forecasts warmer-than-normal winter temperatures for most of the West, northern tier and northern New England, with cooler weather in the Southeast, and average temperatures elsewhere.

The agency predicts wetter-than-normal conditions stretching from Southern California to Florida and up to northern New Hampshire, with dry patches in the Pacific Northwest and Great Lakes. Average precipitation is forecast elsewhere.