El Niño Could Make U.S. Weather More Extreme During 2014

Unusual weather across the U.S. and other parts of the world just became more likely for this summer and autumn.  That’s because the chances have gone up that El Niño—an atmospheric pattern driven by water temperature changes in the Pacific Ocean—will develop during that time, according to the nation’s leading climate experts.  When El Niño settles in, it has major effects on weather conditions nationally and globally.

Scientists speaking at a press conference yesterday afternoon said the odds that El Niño will develop during the summer have risen from 65 to 70 percent.  The prediction comes in a new monthly report from the U.S. National Weather Service and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society at Columbia University.  The experts also said there is up to an 80% chance that El Niño will develop during the fall and winter.

Regions across the U.S. that are normally wet can dry out during El Niño conditions, while normally dry regions can flood. Worldwide expectations related to El Niño are not always accurate, however.  “There is an expectation of drought, but not in every single El Niño event do we actually have drought,” Lisa Goddard, director of the International Research Institute for Climate and Society, said during the briefing.

El Niño Could Make U.S. Weather More Extreme During 2014