The term \u2018Super El Ni\u00f1o\u2019 is catching extra attention in the media. This is just another way to say we\u2019ve observed strong indications of a strong El Ni\u00f1o.<\/p>\n
The correct terms to classify an outstanding El Ni\u00f1o are Strong El Ni\u00f1o or Very Strong El Ni\u00f1o. <\/p>\n
The exaggeration doesn\u2019t mean we\u2019re expecting to see intense changes in our weather. Instead, it means we could have a cooler winter with above-average precipitation. <\/p>\n
KEY POINTS:<\/p>\n
\u2018Super El Ni\u00f1o\u2019 is no different than saying a strong El Ni\u00f1o.<\/p>\n
Texas is in a better position to see more rain, though not guaranteed.<\/p>\n
Whatever the Weather<\/p>\n
A collection of daily blog posts from the KSAT Weather Authority.<\/p>\n
WHAT IS EL NI\u00d1O\/LA NI\u00d1A?<\/p>\n
El Ni\u00f1o and La Ni\u00f1a are natural weather patterns that happen in the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n
In order to understand El Ni\u00f1o (and La Ni\u00f1a, for that matter), we first need to touch on the El Ni\u00f1o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).<\/p>\n
ENSO is the climate pattern involving changing sea-surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. Warming and cooling cycles of ENSO affect weather patterns across the United States and also impact rainfall distribution in the tropics.<\/p>\n
El Ni\u00f1o:\u00a0The warming cycle of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean waters. Winds at the surface, which typically blow from east to west, weaken and can even start blowing in the opposite direction. This allows ocean waters to warm, leading to El Ni\u00f1o conditions.<\/p>\n
El Nino is defined by warmer than average waters in the Pacific off of the coast of South America (Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n
La Ni\u00f1a: The cooling cycle of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean waters. Opposite of El Ni\u00f1o, surface winds strengthen and shift the warm surface water farther west at a stronger rate. To replace that warm water, cold water from below then rises to the surface, creating cooler sea-surface temperatures which lead to La Ni\u00f1a conditions.<\/p>\n
La Nina brings cooler temperatures to the Pacific Ocean off of the coast of South America. (Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n
Neutral:\u00a0Neither El Ni\u00f1o or La Ni\u00f1a conditions. Sea-surface temperatures in an ENSO-Neutral cycle are close to average.<\/p>\n
Whether we are in the El Ni\u00f1o or La Ni\u00f1a phase of ENSO, changes in our weather pattern are more noticeable in the winter. <\/p>\n
EL NI\u00d1O USUALLY BRINGS TEXAS MORE RAIN<\/p>\n
During an El Ni\u00f1o winter, the weather-making jet stream is in a much better position for rain in Texas, pulling in even more moisture from the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n
A shift to El Nino, dips the jet stream and pulls more Pacific moisture into the southern portion of the US, bringing more rain. (Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n
In El Ni\u00f1o, wetter than average weather is possible. However, this is not a guarantee. <\/p>\n
El Ni\u00f1o helps tip the scales in our favor for rain, but it does not promise complete drought elimination.<\/p>\n
ANOTHER COLD SNAP?<\/p>\n
El Ni\u00f1o conditions don\u2019t sound the alarm for intense winter weather.<\/p>\n
We expect cooler temperatures because of above-average precipitation. <\/p>\n
The occurrence of a cold snap with freezing temperatures and snowy weather is not correlated with El Ni\u00f1o in South Texas. That does not mean it is impossible, but it is not typical. As is usual for every winter in South Central Texas, we may still have one or two minor ice events.<\/p>\n
PREVIOUSLY STRONG EL NI\u00d1OS<\/p>\n
There have been 4 winter seasons during strong or very strong El Ni\u00f1os since 1990. <\/p>\n
Their precipitation totals have varied, but each winter has had more than the average 1.90\u2033 of precipitation. Snow was not observed during these winters either. <\/p>\n
Remember, the meteorological winter months are December, January, and February. <\/p>\n
Precipitation totals and average winter temperatures during past El Ni\u00f1os. Average winter precipitation is 1.90″. (Copyright KSAT-12 2026 – All Rights Reserved)<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The term \u2018Super El Ni\u00f1o\u2019 is catching extra attention in the media. This is just another way to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":368850,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[91777,82,84,83,172,8083],"class_list":["post-368849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-el-nino","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news","tag-weather","tag-whatever-the-weather"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368849","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=368849"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368849\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/368850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}