Stronger El Niño, and milder winter, predicted

Sinc e the current ocean temps are already warmer than it was at this point of 1997, one scientist from the Jet Propulsion Lab in California nicknamed it the Godzilla of all El Ninos.

The El Nino phenomenon is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures near the equator. El Nino in 1997 was the strongest on record, measuring 2.3 on forecasters’ scales.

A previous El Nino was partly blamed for the severe UK winter of 2009 to 2010, the coldest for decades, which brought parts of Britain to a standstill, causing disruption to transport and sports events, school closures, and power outages.

He also said that we were on the way to a strong event.

So what’s the prospect of a prolonged El Nino in the West mean for the Northern Plains and the Red River Valley?

However, Halpert said that even with a strong El Nino, predicting impacts from it still amounts to uncertain long-range weather forecasting.

This El Nino may compete against the greatest El Nino since records began being kept in 1950, stated experts at the Climate Prediction Center.

However, Thursday’s news, in the monthly El Nio report from NOAA and Columbia University, boosted hopes of drought-weary Californians.

During the last 18 months, San Diegans have seen record setting temperatures, and some are ready for a change.

“California can not count on potential El Niño conditions to halt or reverse drought conditions, ” says State Climatologist Michael Anderson.

El Nino is being watched with particular anticipation in drought-parched California.

“It definitely would increase the likelihood of heavy rains in the winter there, which would certainly improve their situation tremendously”, said Donald Keeney, senior agricultural meteorologist with Maryland-based MDA Weather Services.

But a strong El Nino likely won’t be a complete drought-buster for California. The Feds added that water temperatures are warming not only on the surface of the Pacific Ocean but much deeper into the water than in years past.