2012 Winter Outlook Shows El Nino May Not Relieve The Midwest Drought After All- Alexis Brunson

In making its seasonal prediction, forecasters cautioned that there are large portions of the country for which there are no clear indications whether it will be a warmer, colder, wetter, or drier than average winter, largely due to a fickle El Niño event that may have petered out too early to have much of an impact on North American winter weather.
Given that the majority of the Lower 48 states are still mired in a major drought, with the latest drought monitor showing a continuous swath of drought stretching from California to Illinois, the forecast offers little hope for significant relief anytime soon.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/19/2012-winter-forecast-us-drought_n_1987882.html