{"id":201929,"date":"2026-03-12T21:07:41","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T21:07:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/201929\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T21:07:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T21:07:41","slug":"what-the-coming-el-nino-means-for-west-texas-rainfall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/201929\/","title":{"rendered":"What The Coming El Ni\u00f1o Means For West Texas Rainfall"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"544\" data-end=\"674\">Meteorologists are keeping an eye on a major climate pattern that could return later this year and influence the weather across Texas.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"676\" data-end=\"804\">Conditions in the Pacific Ocean are beginning to shift, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.expressnews.com\/san-antonio-weather\/article\/el-nino-texas-fall-cold-temperature-la-nina-winter-21292660.php\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">some climate models<\/a> suggest El Ni\u00f1o could develop later in 2026, and that<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov\/products\/analysis_monitoring\/enso_advisory\/ensodisc.shtml\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> neutral conditions<\/a> are likely to hit May-July.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"806\" data-end=\"974\">While it is still early, forecasters say the pattern could eventually affect rainfall and temperatures across parts of the southern United States, including West Texas.<\/p>\n<p>Read More:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/kfmx.com\/rain-lubbock-winter-2026\/?utm_source=tsmclip&amp;utm_medium=referral\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Spring Storm Season Approaches: Rainfall Trends In Lubbock<\/a><\/p>\n<p>What El Ni\u00f1o Is<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"997\" data-end=\"1080\">El Ni\u00f1o is part of a natural climate cycle called the El Ni\u00f1o Southern Oscillation.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1082\" data-end=\"1251\">During El Ni\u00f1o, ocean waters in the central and eastern Pacific become warmer than normal. Those warmer waters can shift jet streams and storm patterns across the globe.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1253\" data-end=\"1345\">These events usually occur every few years and often influence the weather across North America.<\/p>\n<p>Read More:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/kfmx.com\/lubbock-blowing-dust-danger\/?utm_source=tsmclip&amp;utm_medium=referral\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Understanding The Health Risks Of Dust Storms In Lubbock<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Why Forecasters Are Watching Now<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1385\" data-end=\"1537\">The world has recently been under the influence of a La Ni\u00f1a pattern, which tends to bring hotter and drier conditions to parts of the southern U.S.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1539\" data-end=\"1775\">According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, La Ni\u00f1a is expected to weaken this spring. Climate outlooks show a transition to neutral conditions during the summer, with the possibility of El Ni\u00f1o developing later in the year.<\/p>\n<p>What This Could Mean For Lubbock<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1934\" data-end=\"2013\">If El Ni\u00f1o does develop, it could slightly shift weather patterns across Texas.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2015\" data-end=\"2053\">Historically, El Ni\u00f1o years can bring:<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2057\" data-end=\"2109\">Increased chances of rain across the southern U.S.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2112\" data-end=\"2176\">Slightly cooler temperature patterns compared to La Ni\u00f1a years (thanks to cloud coverage)<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2179\" data-end=\"2222\">More active storm systems later in the year<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2224\" data-end=\"2345\">That does not guarantee specific weather in Lubbock, but it can increase the odds of wetter conditions across the region.<\/p>\n<p>FLASHBACK: Lubbock&#8217;s Historic Blizzard of 2015<\/p>\n<p>A winter storm could bring a significant amount of snow to Lubbock and the surrounding areas this weekend. But how will it compare with the Blizzard of 2015?<\/p>\n<p class=\"photogallery-credit\">Gallery Credit: Chad Hasty<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Meteorologists are keeping an eye on a major climate pattern that could return later this year and influence&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":201930,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[168,170,169,172],"class_list":["post-201929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lubbock","tag-lubbock","tag-lubbock-headlines","tag-lubbock-news","tag-weather"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201929\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/201930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}