A warm North Carolina fall is likely on the way

North Carolina's record-breaking year for warmer-than-average temperatures won't end anytime soon.

Why it matters: Better make that an iced pumpkin spiced latte , as our Axios New Orleans colleagues put it.

Driving the news: September through November is likely to feature above-average temperatures across much of the country, according to the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center. North Carolina is no exception.

Flashback: The Triangle has already broken records this year for the warmest spring on record and this summer, clocked its hottest temperature ever in July, when Raleigh-Durham International Airport hit 106° July 5 .

• The high summer temperatures, combined with little rain during part of the summer, put the entire state in a drought or "abnormally dry" conditions — a first in 15 years.

The latest: After a glorious streak of false fall days last week, we'll see warmer weather again in the coming days, per NWS Raleigh — reminding us that it is very much not fall yet, no matter how much you may want it to be.

Yes, but: Temperatures are expected to dip back into the upper 70s next week.

The big picture: The new climate outlook for the U.S. this fall reflects the expected influence of a coming La Niña event in the tropical Pacific Ocean, along with longer-term trends, Axios' Andrew Freedman writes .

• La Niña is a natural climate cycle featuring below-average ocean temperatures in the eastern equatorial tropical Pacific Ocean. It creates a friendlier environment for tropical storms and hurricanes to form.
• According to the latest predictions, there is about a 66% chance of a La Niña developing during the fall, and about a 70% chance of it lasting through the winter.

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