Snowbirds and residents in the Coachella Valley can look forward to a winter that can best be described as noncommittal.

Forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released Thursday are projecting weather in Southern California for the next three months that is either slightly warmer or slightly colder than normal, and no one is saying which.

“It's equal chances it's above normal or below normal,” said Stefanie Sullivan, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in San Diego, who was equally noncommittal about commenting on the NOAA forecast.

“It has that for the one-month as well as the three-month outlook. It's kind of average,” Sullivan said.

December, January and February are historically the coolest months of the year in the desert, according to a report from the National Weather Service. Average temperatures are in the 70s during the day and the 40s at night.

February is also the area's wettest month, the only one where average rainfall tops 1 inch.

The national forecasters said long-term predictions are especially challenging this year because neither the El Niño (warm) or La Niña (cold) conditions are under way in the Pacific Ocean. The changes in ocean water temperature affect climate across the country.

Michael Halpert, deputy director of the Climate Prediction Center, said, “We expect variability, or substantial changes in temperature and precipitation across much of the country.”

NOAA is predicting warmer-than-average temperatures in several areas, from the region covering New Mexico, Colorado and Nebraska to another swath of states running from Michigan to New York and Pennsylvania and south to Georgia.

The rest of the 48 contiguous states will, like Southern California, have equal chances of being warmer or cooler than normal, the forecast said.

Most of Alaska is expected to be warmer than normal, as are the westernmost of the Hawaiian islands. The big island of Hawaii is expected to be cooler than usual for winter, which meteorologists define as December through February.

K Kaufmann of The Desert Sun contributed to this report.