You probably heard at least a few times in 2015 that the year’s El Niño was set to be one of the strongest on record. That’s not wrong, but, according to NASA, you’ll be hearing a lot of the same throughout 2016.
(via NASA)
NASA recently released a report predicting the current El Niño will only get worse within the coming months causing further “weather chaos.” In comparing images from 2015 to images from the largest El Niño event on record in 1997, NASA found striking resemblances between the “classic pattern of a fully developed” El Niño. The images show high sea surface heights along the equator, indicating a thick layer of warm water.
Scientists are still unsure how the current El Niño could affect the U.S., but 1997’s event was the cause of the “Great Ice Storm” of 1998 and storms that slammed California and Texas. The severe conditions were responsible for approximately 23,000 deaths from 1997-1998. A strong El Niño is known to cause more and stronger Pacific hurricanes, boost the number and size of fires in forests in South America and see a decline in the fish population.
Check out today’s Austin weather forecast here.
