Super El Niño Buzz: Early Signs, NOAA's Take

0:00It's April 7th. This is California News Today, AI-powered stories from your city. I'm Cori with the story. New forecast models are sparking buzz about a possible super El Nino hitting later this year, with ocean temps potentially rivaling the strongest on. Record like 1997 to 1998 or 2015 to 2016. But hold up, that super label ain't official from spots like NOAA, and it's just one model hinting at extra heat in the tropical Pacific by fall. The European model dropped this fresh plot over the weekend, showing outlier points for a mega event, but forecasters mix in tons of data sources. NOAA's take is more chill, pegging in 80% shot at El Nino developing this fall through winter, with one in three odds for a strong one. Sprint outlooks like this are the shakiest, bound to shift by summer. Folks in Northern California are flashing back to that brutal 1997 to 1998 winter, when rain doubled averages in. Places like Sacramento, causing floods,

1:00but the 2015 to 2016 strong El Nino? Barely average moisture up here, even with Sierra snow metrics near normal. Experts stress El Nino's just one player in the winter game, and other patterns won't show to closer to the season. For NorCal, stats don't lock in wet winters from strong El Nino's, though Southern California sees a clearer link. Bottom line, no need to stockpile sandbags yet. These early signals are fuzzy, and the next NOAA update drops Thursday. Stay tuned as the picture sharpens.