The US Climate Prediction Center has forecast a warmer-than-average October for much of the country.

Above-normal monthly temperatures are favored for nearly all areas west of the Continental Divide, according to the outlook. The northern and central Plains, the Upper Mississippi Valley and the Gulf coast are also likely to be warmer than usual.

The highest chances of above-normal temperatures are over California, parts of western Nevada and southern Oregon, and most of the Florida Peninsula.

No part of the country is favored to have a cooler-than-average October.

The outlook is linked to a strengthening El Niño. The center says there is a greater than 90 per cent chance of a very strong El Niño through the fall and winter of 2026-27.

It also puts the odds at up to 75 per cent that the October-to-December period will be the strongest El Niño on record since 1950.

A wetter southern tier and a milder northern winter are the classic signs of a strong El Niño pattern.