The El Niño has arrived, but the precipitation brought about by the phenomenon won't likely have a significant effect on the severe drought in California.
Forecasters from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center announced on Thursday that the weather event, which is characterized by the warming of sea temperatures in the central Pacific Ocean, is underway.
"Based on the persistent observations of above-average sea surface temperatures across the western and central equatorial Pacific Ocean and consistent pattern of sea level pressure, we can now say that El Niño is here," said NOAA's Climate Prediction Center deputy director Mike Halpert.
Experts believe that a more potent El Niño event could potentially change global weather patterns and lead to flooding in some places, droughts in others and a generally warmer global temperature, but while the arrival of El Niño in the past sometimes had potent effects, experts consider this one so weak that it is not anticipated to have a widespread or significant impact on global weather patterns.
Certain El Nino effects, however, may emerge in parts of the Northern Hemisphere this spring such as the U.S. Gulf Coast having wetter than normal conditions. Forecasters likewise said that there are between 50 to 60 percent chances that the El Niño conditions will continue through the summer.
High-atmosphere winds and other elements that can influence weather can occur during an El Niño. In the U.S., the event can lead to storms along the West Coast as well as affect hurricanes and tropical storms. The El Niño may also lead to the reduction of tropical storm activity, but the NOAA says that it is too early to know for sure.
The conditions can also bring more rain to drought-stricken California, but experts say that this El Niño was so weak that regardless that it could last through the summer, it could only give little, if any, relief to the state, which currently experiences extreme drought.
"After many months of watching, El Niño has formed," Halpert said. "Unfortunately, this El Niño is likely too little, too late and too weak to provide much relief for drought-stricken California as California's rainy season is winding down."
The last El Niño, which occurred between 2009 and 2010, was a moderate to strong event. The last very strong one occurred between 1997 and 1998 and was attributed for heavy rainfall in the West, particularly California.
