El Nino Intensifies: What It Means For Winter in California

By Deb Belt, Patch Editor

What will the winter of 2015-16 bring with a strong El Niño heading our way?

The National Weather Service last week issued an advisory giving a 90 percent chance that El Niño — a weather pattern that begins with warming waters in the Pacific Ocean and carries with it the threat of severe weather and natural disasters — continues into the winter. Scientists put an 85 percent chance of it continuing into next spring.

One National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration blog jokingly referred to it as the“Bruce Lee” El Niño, and a NASA scientist took that a step further saying it has “Godzilla” potential.

The winter forecast from the National Weather Service updated on Thursday predicts El Nino will offer equal chances for above normal temperatures in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, portions of the Midwest and Southern California. Warmer temperatures seem most likely in Illinois, northern California and Washington state.

Forecasters are expecting above normal precipitation chances from New York down the East Coast to Florida, as well as in dry Southern California. Illinois, Michigan and other parts of the Midwest may see a drier-than-normal winter.

Old Farmer’s Almanac Prediction

Another source -- the Old Farmer’s Almanac -- predicts the coming winter will be largely snowy and really cold for the entire country.

You can order the long-range prediction online on the Almanac’s site, or get your hard copy in the mail.

The Huffington Post reports that the Old Farmer’s Almanac calls for below-normal temps and above-normal snow levels for New England. It’s going to be frigid in the Midwest and icy in some areas of the South, and the Pacific Northwest should brace from some snowy periods in December.

An editor for the Almanac told the Post that “everybody who gets snow will have a White Christmas.”

»Patch File Photo