Key Points:<\/p>\n
Western states prepare for strong El Ni\u00f1o weather system<\/p>\n
National Weather Service predicts 63% chance of \u201cvery strong\u201d El Ni\u00f1o<\/p>\n
El Ni\u00f1o systems could help alleviate drought conditions in the Western states like Arizona<\/p>\n
Western states and the federal government are preparing supplies and emergency repair kits ahead of what is expected to be an unusually strong El Ni\u00f1o weather system this year that could bring torrential rains and strong winds.<\/p>\n
The National Weather Service said<\/a> last month that an El Ni\u00f1o system has developed in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Forecasters predicted a 63% chance that sea surface temperatures will exceed 2 degrees Celsius above average, a threshold past which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration considers it a \u201cvery strong\u201d system.<\/p>\n In a separate warning in early June, the World Meteorological Organization, a wing of the United Nations, forecast an 80% likelihood of an El Ni\u00f1o event between June and August, and a 90% likelihood until at least November.<\/p>\n \u201cEl Ni\u00f1o conditions will pour fuel on the fire of a warming world,\u201d UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned<\/a>. \u201cImpacts will hit even harder, travel even farther, and cross borders with devastating speed.\u201d<\/p>\n El Ni\u00f1o systems<\/a> form when ocean temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean warm. Weaker than normal trade winds allow warmer water to remain close to the surface, rather than upwelling from the depths, accumulating along the coasts of North, Central and South America.<\/p>\n The phenomenon pushes the jet stream across the Pacific south, creating dryer and warmer conditions in the northern United States and Canada \u2014 but also creating wetter than usual conditions from California to the Dust Bowl to the Gulf Coast. Those wetter conditions can lead to flooding and stormy weather.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery El Ni\u00f1o is not the same; each one is unique with its own imprint on our weather,\u201d Ken Graham, director of the National Weather Service, said in a statement. \u201cAdvanced monitoring and an improved understanding of El Ni\u00f1o patterns allow the NWS to better predict and better prepare the public and our core partners for what is to come.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the California Department of Water Resources said the state is already holding meetings with local and regional emergency response agencies.<\/p>\n The State-Federal Flood Operations Center, based in Sacramento, has pre-positioned 209 flood-fight material containers in 68 locations across the state, the spokesperson said. Those containers include more than 4.3 million sandbags and 55,000 \u201csuper sacks,\u201d meant to combat flooding. The department has also stockpiled more than 400,000 tons of rock for emergency levee repairs.<\/p>\n \u201cPast El Ni\u00f1o winters have demonstrated that California must be prepared for anything, including extreme storms and extreme drought,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cState agencies are monitoring long-term forecasts closely as the summer progresses.\u201d<\/p>\n In a separate email, a spokesperson for the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it too had pre-positioned supplies for large-scale events, including the upcoming hurricane season, the ongoing World Cup and the nation\u2019s 250th anniversary celebrations. FEMA has pre-positioned meals, water, generators and other response supplies at distribution centers in case demand exceeds state capacity to respond to disasters.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re ensuring workforce stability and a strong, deployable force for upcoming national events and potential disasters, making the agency leaner, faster and laser-focused on supporting state, local, tribal and territorial partners before, during and after disasters,\u201d the FEMA spokesperson said.<\/p>\n If there is a benefit to El Ni\u00f1o systems, it is that they tend to suppress storm and hurricane development that can threaten the other side of the United States, on the Atlantic seaboard. In May, NOAA predicted<\/a> a below-normal hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean.<\/p>\n The Weather Service says El Ni\u00f1o systems create stormier weather across the southern United States, along with the risk of high tide flooding on the West Coast.<\/p>\n Increased rain and snow \u2014 provided it doesn\u2019t create flooding conditions \u2014 could also benefit Western states. The seven states along the Colorado River, which provides water and hydropower generation for some 40 million Americans, are currently fighting over a deal to divide water use rights as the river drops to near-record lows.<\/p>\n