That’s due to unusually warm sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. This natural climate pattern occurs when east-to-west trade winds weaken, allowing warm water to shift eastward.<\/p>\n
This is what fuels more storms and clouds over the region that can cause ripple effects through the global atmosphere – and the U.S.<\/a> is no exception.<\/p>\n But AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said whether this El Ni\u00f1o breaks records or not, “it is about the impacts and the impacts will not change either way.\u201d<\/p>\n The El Ni\u00f1o is already impacting weather in the U.S., stymying this year\u2019s Atlantic hurricane production.<\/p>\n Expected to last through next year, the pattern should bring lingering heat through the fall months<\/a> in northern and eastern states. <\/p>\n And it\u2019s projected to send drenching storms across the southern swath of the country while the Atlantic stays quiet.<\/p>\n During the winter, El Ni\u00f1o could bring snow, sleet and freezing rain to the Southeast and southern Plains. <\/p>\n And Florida could see more thunderstorms than usual, while other parts of the Gulf Coast see less, according to CNN meteorologist Mary Gilbert<\/a>.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, after the worst spring drought on record, any resulting snowpack is anticipated to provide little relief for the West\u2019s decades-long water crisis.<\/p>\n \u201cEven one big year is not going to save us,\u201d John Berggren, a policy manager at environmental nonprofit Western Resource Advocates, told WIRED<\/a>. \u201cIt might be a sigh of relief, but we’ll be right back in it.\u201d<\/p>\n Next year\u2019s forecast is murkier, but temperatures could soar, and federal forecasters said last week that there is a 90 percent chance<\/a> the 2026-2027 El Ni\u00f1o will reach the highest strength level.<\/p>\n There are four different strength levels<\/a>, ranging from \u201cweak\u201d to \u201cvery strong.\u201d<\/p>\n El Ni\u00f1o is the warm phase of the climate pattern known as the El Ni\u00f1o Southern Oscillation, which regulates global climate. These events occur every 2-7 years.<\/p>\n The last time the El Ni\u00f1o was this strong was in 1877, when a global famine killed more than 50 million people.<\/p>\n \u201cSimultaneous multiyear droughts similar to those in the 1870s could happen again,\u201d Deepti Singh, an associate professor at Washington State University, told The Washington Post in May<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat is different now is that our atmosphere and oceans are substantially warmer than they were in the 1870s, which means the associated extremes could be more extreme,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n How much human-caused climate change plays a role here is an ongoing debate.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s clear that there are higher temperatures and stronger storms now due to climate change. This past July was the warmest on record. <\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-818986040.jpeg\")
The 2026-2027 El Ni\u00f1o climate pattern is expected to be very strong and potentially the strongest \u2018in a lifetime,\u2019 forecasters warn. That could mean more extreme weather impacts across America (Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/elnino.jpeg\")
The El Nino pattern is the warm phase of the climate pattern known as the El Nino Southern Oscillation. It brings wetter weather in the southern states and warmer and drier conditions up north (NOAA)<\/p>\n