Research from the United Nations warns there's a strong chance the warm winds of El Nino will swell in 2014.
"The U.N. weather agency says there is a strong chance an El Nino weather event will reappear before the end of the year. The odds of El Nino are at 60 percent between June and August and rise to 75-80 percent between October and December." (Via KABC)
The World Meteorological Organization published the report Thursday. The agency believes current temperatures in the Pacific Ocean are already higher than normal and expects the warming trend to continue through 2014.
"Advance warning has given governments around the world time to make contingency plans for the impact of this year's expected El Niño on the agriculture, water management, health and other climate-sensitive sectors." (Via World Meteorological Organization)
El Nino is a flow of warm surface waters from the Pacific Ocean. When westbound trade winds weaken, warm water and thunderstorms from the east are pushed across the Pacific Ocean. The system draws up hotter water from the Pacific Ocean and sends tropical storms east toward the Gulf of Mexico. This leaves places like Australia and Asia unseasonably dry.
The climate condition occurs irregularly every two to seven years. Despite its effect on the Pacific Ocean, worldwide temperatures are expected to increase as a result.
News stations in Southern California jumped on the U.N.'s findings, and with good reason: The state has been suffering through an exceptional drought. (Via National Drought Mitigation Center)
"They are expecting a greater amount of rain, especially in drought-parched California next winter." (Via KMPH)
"It does not always mean wetter than average. I am pulling for wetter than average; I think we all are. We know how beneficial it would be to get rain in here." (Via KNBC)
The last El Nino occurred in 2009 and brought about the hottest year on record. The WMO has been tracking and predicting the return of El Nino since the beginning of this year. (Via Flickr / Sarah Sosiak)
U.N. experts also stressed no two El Nino seasons are the same.
