Warm oceans lead to low pressure systems in the atmosphere above, which in turn leads to a lot of rain for the western coasts of the Americas.ĭuring some of the most famous El Niños of the past, the deluges have been so strong that entire villages have slid down mountainsides. What is El Niño?Įl Niño events are actually just one half-the warm, wet half-of a naturally occurring weather cycle called the “ El Niño-Southern Oscillation,” or ENSO.ĭuring an El Niño event, the surface of the tropical Pacific Ocean gets warmer than usual, particularly at the equator and along the coasts of South and Central America. Learn more about how El Niños form and how they influence our weather. Overall, a warming climate has nudged annual snowfall totals down in many states. While El Niño raises the odds for snow in certain regions, it's not a guarantee that more snow will indeed fall. This year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects the odds of snow to increase in the Southwest and Mid-Atlantic and decrease over the Rocky Mountains, Midwest, and New England. Thanks to its influence on the jet stream, El Niño winters typically result in dryer conditions in the north, and wetter conditions along the California coast and in the south. Layered on top of climate change, this year's El Niño has already helped contribute to record warm temperatures as warm water locked in the deep ocean rises to the surface.īut hot weather isn't the only impact of an El Niño-some parts of the country may have an above average chance of seeing more snowfall.

We're currently experiencing the effects of an El Niño weather pattern, which tends to create warmer-than-average weather.

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