El Nino 2014 Prediction: NOAA Expects El Nino To Bring Stormy Weather To West Coast
Get ready folks, it looks like an El Niño may be well underway to shake up the weather all over the world.
The predicted El Niño is set to begin in the summer and continue to build into the fall. According to reports from the National Oceanic Atmosphere Administration (NOAA), the El Niño may create a stormy winter along the West Coast and will likely end the current drought in California. It is also believed that the El Niño will produce a wet winter across the south and a warmer-than-average winter in the North.
So what exactly is an El Niño and what are the odds that it will in fact surface?
An El Niño is defined as a band of abnormally warm ocean water temperatures that periodically develop off the Pacific coast of South America and last typically between three to five months. The El Niño's irregular rise in ocean temperature usually results in oscillating droughts, floods, and crop yields in different regions throughout the world.
The chances of an El Niño making an appearance are very likely according to the NOAA and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.
"There's a 65% likelihood that El Niño will develop by later in the fall," said Mike Halpert, director of NOAA's Climate Prediction Center to USA Today. As for the summer, Helpert predicts a lower 50 percent chance of El Niño's development.
The Autralian Bureau of Meteorology is even more confident in their reports and have predicted a 70 percent chance of the El Niño's progression in the next four months.
Although the likelihood seems high, we will just have to wait and see since El Niño forecasts as recently as 2012 haven't always come true. However, when they do happen, El Niño's are known to create some serious damage.
USA Today reports, El Niño killed 23,000 worldwide due to floods, drought and disease and led to $35 billion in damages, according to a 1999 report from NOAA. It also pushed global temperatures to their highest on record, which could happen again this year or next.
How will you prepare for the next El Niño?
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