‘Behemoth’ El Niño could be ‘off the charts,’ forecasters warn

(NEXSTAR) – Meteorologists are continuing to warn of the El Niño weather event expected to impact us throughout the winter, with a new climate outlook from the World Meteorological Organization suggesting it “could be unprecedented in strength.”

In an update Wednesday, the WMO said this year’s El Niño weather pattern could be so strong, it could “literally [be] off the monitoring charts that we have used for the past four decades.”

A main focus of forecasting El Niño comes down to sea surface temperatures. In the Pacific, an “anomaly of 0.5 [degrees Celsius] above normal” can trigger an El Niño alert from the WMO, according to the United Nations. Between next month and January, WMO has forecast temperatures could rise 3.8 degrees Celsius above average.

“This El Niño is a behemoth,” the UN’s emergency relief chief, Tom Fletcher, said Wednesday, further describing it as “a wrecking ball,” packed with “extreme heat, droughts, and floods.” Its effects are expected to “be felt long after” it peaks at the end of 2026, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said during a press conference, echoing other recent forecasts.

What happens during El Niño?

This strong, long-lasting El Niño is expected to have a “pretty substantial impact” on the weather we see over the next several months, Brian James, Nexstar chief meteorologist, previously said.

As we head into winter, how El Niño plays out will be very different for the northern half of the country and the southern half. Broadly........

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