El Nino to hold on all winter
By Terry Murry on Wednesday, September 20th, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – La Nina is gone. National Weather Service Meteorologist Camden Plunkett said the Climate Prediction center is very confident that this winter will see an El Nino firmly in place.
“They’re forecasting the El Nino conditions to persist through the winter months,” he said. “We’ve got a greater than 95 percent chance.”
The Pacific Northwest experiences the conditions posted by either an El Nino or La Nina more in the winter months than at other times of the year. El Nino translates to lower precipitation and higher than normal temperatures for the Pacific Northwest. La Nina means more precipitation and colder temperatures for this region. It is the exact opposite for the southwestern United States with El Nino and La Nina.
El Nino occurs when surface water in the equatorial Pacific is warmer than average and east winds are weaker than normal. They typically occur every three to five years.
