Extreme weather events which have included above freezing temperatures in the Arctic, devastating weather in Texas, and a bone dry start to the winter in New England are all being linked to this year’s El Niño.
And it’s not stopping anytime soon reports NASA.
In a new report filed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in conjunction with California Institute of Technology, data from satellite imagery is showing that El Niño is only getting stronger. So far, the weather phenomenon is surpassing 1997’s peak intensity and the equatorial Pacific seems to be warmer than it ever has before.
What does this mean for the world’s weather?
“Utter Chaos,” says NASA’s media relations specialist, Alan Buis.
That chaos is evident in the massive wildfires sweeping Indonesia as well as the El Niño induced heat waves that continue to plague India.
However, the continental US is experiencing different effects. For one, this El Niño is bringing much-needed precipitation to drought stricken California. Much of that precipitation has come in the form of snow, which has fallen in the Sierra and will eventually help remedy the severe drought in central California. Although the Golden state is a few significant snowfall years from complete recovery, the current snowfall definitely doesn’t exacerbate the current drought conditions.
“Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration favor an El Niño-induced shift in weather patterns to begin in the near future, ushering in several months of relatively cool and wet conditions across the southern United States, and relatively warm and dry conditions over the northern United States.”– Alan Buis (NASA)
NASA is concluding that El Niño effects will likely continue for the next few months bringing with them snow and rain to the southern United States.
Bottomline, TAHOE IS STOKED!
Read the entire report here: A Still-Growing El Niño Set to Bear Down on U.S.