Most of the United States, including the Northeast heating oil market except for Maine, will see above-normal temperatures from December through February, government forecasters predicted Thursday.

In its 90-day outlook, the National Weather Service said there were equal chances of above-normal and below-normal temperatures in the West, in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, and the northern half of Nevada and California.

The agency projected below-normal precipitation in much of the southern half of the United States in a large area stretching from Virginia down through Georgia and across through Texas to California.

Above-normal precipitation was forecast for the Pacific Northwest and for a large area from the Great Lakes down to northern Alabama and Mississippi from December through February.