Nov. 9, 2020
For residents on the East Coast – and for investors across the country – prepare for a colder, wetter winter.
As the summer drew to a close, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that it saw a La Nina weather pattern emerging as Pacific Ocean waters cooled. By October, the agency noted that, based on the amount of cooling it was seeing, the US can expect a “moderate to strong” La Nina to unfold.
And that has implications for America’s utility sector.
In particular, this new La Nina could well signal a price rise for shares of utility companies serving New England – a region of the country that La Nina traditionally treats poorly.
See, in years during which a La Nina emerges, Western and Southern states tend to experience drier, warmer winters. Meanwhile, the northern part of America – basically the Dakotas across to Maine, and down to about the Mason-Dixon Line – typically endures much colder temperatures and a larger amount of rain and snow.