How the Potential of Super El Niño Will Influence Weather in the Coming Months

La Niña is fading fast, paving the way for what could become a super El Niño takeover of the global climate patterns. What is precipitating this change in the equatorial Pacific, and how will the shift impact weather in the months ahead in the U.S.? Read on for all of the details.

Is a Super El Niño Coming in the Near Future?

The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued an El Niño watch, also noting that this could evolve into a super El Niño. Should this happen, it would be just the third super El Niño over the last 30 years.

For now, La Niña is still hanging on. However, a major shift in the Pacific Ocean is forecast to take place this summer, changing the weather patterns around the world. During a La Niña phase, water temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean circulating near the equator trend cooler than average. Warming ocean waters in this corner of the globe are expected to usher in an El Niño phase.

The competing phases of El Niño and La Niña are part of a natural climate cycle that happens every few years. El Niño is formally defined by waters in the tropical Eastern Pacific near the equator that are at least 0.5 degrees above the long-term averages for a period of at least three consecutive months.