El Niño Update As Winter Weather Forecast To Change Within Weeks

Experts are predicting a wetter than usual winter due to the El Nino weather patterns. Pictured: A pedestrian shelters under an umbrella in San Francisco, California, in this archive image from February 2011.

Meteorologists are warning millions of Americans to get their umbrellas ready for December as El Niño-driven rain is scheduled to hit next month.

Warmer than normal temperatures, but increased rainfall, are predicted, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). The agency made the forecast last week as it released its winter weather outlook for December, January and February.

El Niño is a climate pattern in the Pacific Ocean that affects the weather around the world, and can influence wildfires, marine life, ecosystems, and even economies, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). El Niño episodes can last for a period of months, but have been known to last for years.

Earlier this month, the Climate Prediction Center, a division of NOAA, said there is a 100 percent certainty that El Niño will last through early winter, with at least a 90 percent change it will last into the spring.

Experts have said the weather pattern is likely to result in a drier North and wetter South.

Meteorologist Stephanie Sullivan told CBS8 on Monday that California is likely to be particularly affected by the wetter weather. “Water being warmer than normal near the equator can affect our storm patterns,” she said.

“It did start to show above normal precipitation starting in December.” There is up to a 50 percent chance of above-normal rainfall she said, adding that temperatures are likely to be warmer than normal too.

A NASA analysis of the weather patterns also suggests that El Niño is likely to bring increased rain, and may even cause high-tide flooding in West Coast cities. “El Niño could result in up to five instances of a type of flooding called a 10-year flood event this winter in cities including Seattle and San Diego,” the agency said in a statement on November 8.

Residents should always check the NWS for forecasts in their local areas.

This week, the NWS warned that a storm is heading towards the country that could affect pre-Thanksgiving travel plans.

“A storm with a trailing cold front will sweep across the eastern third of the U.S. through Wednesday with strong to severe thunderstorms and heavy rain from the Southeast into the Mid-Atlantic and coastal New England,” the agency said.

“Further north, high winds are expected east of Lake Erie and a wintry mix will change to rain for the interior Northeast into Wednesday.”

Some experts fear that climate change is set to make extreme weather patterns worse, with a number of researchers and scientists giving Newsweek their grim predictions for the future. Many believe that more thunderstorms and floods are likely, along with tornadoes, hurricanes and droughts.

Over the past year, the U.S. has seen extreme flooding, such as that suffered in Chicago this summer, which came just weeks after parts of Illinois were hit with water restrictions as the result of a drought.

Meanwhile, other parts of the country, such as Texas, suffered from extreme heat. Provisional figures obtained by Newsweek show there were more than 1,700 deaths in 2022 from heat-related causes—a new record.

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