El Niño turns strong and still growing as winter fast approaches - The Weather Network

Published on Nov. 11, 2023, 1:03 AM

Forecasters issued an El Niño advisory on Thursday as all indicators point toward influential warmth in the Pacific heading into the winter months

The Pacific Ocean continues running a fever as the northern hemisphere heads into the winter months, and forecasters see the chance for this El Niño pattern to grow even stronger in the weeks to come.

NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) issued an El Niño advisory in its monthly update on Thursday, a formality that makes official what we’ve long known—El Niño is here, it’s strong, and it could affect our winter weather.

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El Niño is officially here and growing stronger

We’re on the lookout for potential shifts in winter weather patterns across North America in the weeks ahead as El Niño strengthens in the eastern half of the Pacific Ocean.

Water temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean west of South America have been consistently warmer than normal since the early spring, with a period of steady warming through the summer.

A spell of abnormally warm waters is considered an El Niño when sea surface temperatures are consistently 0.5°C above normal for about seven consecutive months. Anomalies of 1.0°C represent a moderate El Niño, while a strong event features temperatures at least 1.5°C above normal.

Average sea surface temperatures across a critical section of the Pacific are coming in around 1.7°C above average, the CPC said this week, which meets the criteria for a strong El Niño.

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El Niño turns strong and still growing as winter fast approaches - The Weather Network
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