Worst of this El Nino expected in coming months

Worst of this El Nino expected in coming months

By [173]Michael Casey
Published December 11, 2015
[174]FoxNews.com
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Forecasters are expecting this winter's El Nino could be the strongest
since 1997-98, which caused massive landslides and other damage in
California.

Forecasters are expecting this winter's El Nino could be the strongest
since 1997-98, which caused massive landslides and other damage in
California. (The Associated Press)

The current El Nino has yet to pack a punch â€" and isn’t responsible
for some of the strange weather already being seen in the United
States.

Forecasters from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) are still predicting with near certainty that this El Nino will
last through the winter and will be the strongest since the 1997-98 El
Nino and possibly the third strongest since 1950. The 1997-98 event
sparked widespread storms and flooding that caused more than $4 billion
in damage and killed 189 people nationwide.
[180]Chief meteorologist Rick Reichmuth weighs in


Related: [181]Monster El Nino expected to shape this winter's weather

El Niño - meaning in Spanish "the little boy, or Christ child" - is
created when the equatorial waters of the Pacific Ocean warm
significantly.

They are also forecasting wetter than average conditions out West from
January to March and above average temperatures in the northern half of
the contiguous U.S., Alaska and much of Hawaii. Below-average
temperatures, meanwhile, are most likely in the southern Plains while
much of the South will see wetter than average.

But Mike Halpert, deputy director, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center,
told reporters that the amounts of tropical rainfall associated with El
Nino so far across the east-central Pacific and all the way to eastern
part of the Pacific have been less than what was seen in other strong
El Nino years like 1997-98.

Related: [182]Forecasters warn this winter's El Nino could be
historically strong

“There is significant difference between this event and (19)97 as well
as 19(82). We’re not quite sure why that is,” Halpert said.

“If you look at the ocean temperatures, we know it’s warmer in the
western part of the Pacific than it was during these other strong
events but it’s actually a little cooler in the eastern part,” he said.
“I think the reason why, at least at this point, the patterns have not
been as strong has to do with the fact that the eastern part of the
basin is warm â€" it comes out as the third warmest - but is
significantly cooler than what we saw during (19)97 and (19)82 as well.
”

Halpert also said El Nino couldn’t be blamed on several weather trends
of late, including storms and heavy rain that have hit the West Coast,
record heat in Florida or the unusual warm conditions in the Northeast
that are expected to see temperatures reach 60 degrees in New York City
this week. There also has been a lack of snow across the region,
including no measurable white stuff in Buffalo â€" breaking a 116 year
record, according to The Associated Press.

Rather than El Nino, Halpert said the heat-wave of sorts in the
Northeast can be blamed on the Arctic Oscillation (AO), which


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