If you're not aware, I'm a fan of colder weather. I like days in the 20s and 30s just as much as those mild winter days in the 50s and 60s. As such, like we've all been wondering, the final arrival of the cold to Southwest Oklahoma is still up in the air.

For the last two or three weeks, the biggest talking point for the extended seasonal forecast has been the La Niña. The oceanic pattern in the Pacific Ocean where cooler water temperatures have a direct effect on much of Central and North America's weather.

Odds are you've heard of the opposite weather pattern, the El Niño which famously made for some record-high summer temperatures back in the 1990s... and the coolest car known to man in Need For Speed 3: Hot Pursuit - only available by winning a knock-out race on expert difficulty... or entering the cheat code at the main menu...

Since a La Niña is present in the Pacific Ocean, nearly every forecast out there for the coming winter season is that of a warmer and drier period of traditionally cool weather. Every forecaster and weather authority in the nation from Southern California to Florida is painting a very mild winter for the states along the Southern border and Gulf region. Similarly, the pattern consumes the states inland up just past the 38th parallel, that's right around the Northern Oklahoma border-ish area, but there's a giant glaring problem with this forecast... we also had a La Niña in effect last year.

If you're not familiar with the weather last year, perhaps you've over-medicated yourself and it's lost to your short-term memory, it started with a historic ice storm in mid-October and went out with a historic arctic bang in mid-February. Feet of snow in some areas of the state, sub-freezing temps for weeks, and all under a predicted "warmer, drier winter" outlook."

I'm convinced meteorologists have no idea what they're talking about. It's like a computer spits out a script and they just rip and read it over the broadcast... If it turns out accurate, it's because they're so good at predicting the weather... if it's not so accurate, it was the computer's fault... Six of one, half-dozen of the other.

Truth be told, odds are we'll have a pretty average winter. Lots of nice, mild days mixed in with some that are on the brutally cold and windy side. Most likely an ice storm to some effect and even a little snow that'll probably stick around for a day or two tops.

LOOK: The most expensive weather and climate disasters in recent decades

Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation, based on 2021 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The list starts with Hurricane Sally, which caused $7.3 billion in damages in 2020, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed at least 1,833 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 of the most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.

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