Common El Niño Myths, and What Scientists Say Is Really Happening

You have likely heard the term El Niño thrown around a lot lately. The climate phase has been driving weather patterns around the world, including in the U.S., for several months. While most people understand what the term means, they might not comprehend the specifics of this influential factor. Here are a few of the most common misconceptions about El Niño.

No El Niño Behaves the Same

The first thing that climatologists want you to understand is that every El Niño is different, meaning it is challenging to predict exactly how this year's phase will play out in real time. Climatologists will look to past El Niño years to predict general weather trends; however, every El Niño event will differ in some way.

This is because each El Niño event does not occur in a vacuum. The phase develops largely due to the other influences around it, such as the strength of the polar vortex or shifts in the jet stream. The bottom line is that no two El Niños are ever the same, making it difficult to predict with precision how this one will play out.

Climatologists also want people to know that El Niño is not always the boogeyman that people make it out to be. Some parts of the U.S. will actually benefit from a strong El Niño. For instance, the Atlantic hurricane season has been atypically calm this year due to these impacts.

There will also be parts of the country that are expected to see warm-than-usual temperatures this winter, helping to lower energy demand and the resulting heating costs.

On the flip side, the potent El Niño has unleashed an exceptionally active hurricane season in the eastern and central Pacific this season, including three storms to impact Hawaii.