{"id":484654,"date":"2026-05-14T17:35:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T17:35:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/484654\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T17:35:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T17:35:32","slug":"predictions-show-strong-el-nino-event-in-2026-what-it-means-for-nc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/484654\/","title":{"rendered":"Predictions show strong El Ni\u00f1o event in 2026. What it means for NC"},"content":{"rendered":"

As summer approaches, meteorologists and climate scientists<\/a> focus in on El Ni\u00f1o predictions.<\/p>\n

Attention has been drawn<\/a> worldwide around predictions that El Ni\u00f1o will form in weeks ahead, with median estimates showing that the climate pattern could be particularly strong in 2026.<\/p>\n

El Ni\u00f1o can affect weather significantly<\/a>; warmer waters associated with the pattern cause the Pacific jet stream to move south, with the northern U.S. and Canada becoming dryer and warmer than usual. In the Gulf Coast and Southeast, these periods are wetter than usual and have increased flooding.<\/p>\n

Previous El Ni\u00f1os have been associated with severe flooding and droughts, wildfires and more. Here’s what North Carolinians need to know in 2026 as predictions continue to show a potentially strong El Ni\u00f1o season.<\/p>\n

What is El Ni\u00f1o? La Ni\u00f1a?<\/p>\n

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration explains that El Ni\u00f1o and La Ni\u00f1a are opposing climate patterns that break normal conditions of water and weather in the Pacific Ocean. The patterns have global impacts on weather, wildfires, ecosystems and economies.<\/p>\n

La Ni\u00f1a:<\/strong>\u00a0La Ni\u00f1a, meaning “Little Girl” in Spanish, brings stronger trade winds to the Pacific, pushing more warm water toward Asia. Off the west coast of the Americas, upwelling increases, bringing cold, nutrient-rich water to the surface.<\/p>\n

Cold waters in the Pacific push the jet stream northward, tending to lead to drought in the Southern U.S. and heavy rains and flooding in the Pacific Northwest and Canada. La Ni\u00f1a can also result in a more severe hurricane season, which is what experts are concerned about in 2024.<\/p>\n

El Ni\u00f1o:<\/strong>\u00a0During El Ni\u00f1o, meaning “Little Boy” in Spanish, conditions are reversed. Trade winds weaken and warm water is pushed back east, toward the west coast of the Americas.<\/p>\n

El Ni\u00f1o can also affect the weather significantly. Warmer waters cause the Pacific jet stream to move south, causing the northern U.S. and Canada to become drier and warmer than usual. In the Gulf Coast and Southeast, these periods are wetter than usual and have increased flooding.<\/p>\n

\"This<\/p>\n

This Climate.gov infographic explains how the El Ni\u00f1o Southern Oscillation can impact weather around the globe.<\/p>\n

Is it an El Ni\u00f1o year in 2026?<\/p>\n

Yes, El Ni\u00f1o is expected to form in the weeks ahead, according to a May 8 report from USA TODAY<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Will there be a strong El Ni\u00f1o in 2026?<\/p>\n

Zeke Hausfather, director of climate and energy at the Breakthrough Institute and a research scientist with Berkeley Earth, told USA TODAY<\/a> that median estimates predict “quite a strong event” this year. In fact, Hausfather predicted that this year’s El Ni\u00f1o would be “among the strongest” seen in recent history.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration put the chances of a strong El Ni\u00f1o at one in four during its April update<\/a>. Since then, ocean surface temperatures have been climbing in the El Ni\u00f1o region. NOAA’s next update comes on May 14.<\/p>\n

While odds are increasing for a strong El Ni\u00f1o this year, the full strength of the event remains up in the air. Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate at the University of Miami, offered a word of caution on early speculations in a recent social post.<\/p>\n

“There is lots of chatter about the forecast development of a strong #ElNin\u0303o,” McNoldy said. The models are in very good agreement on that. But the consensus is an ‘average’ strong El Nin\u0303o, not historic.”<\/p>\n

What does a strong El Ni\u00f1o mean for the US, NC?<\/p>\n

A strong El Ni\u00f1o brings additional heat; previous El Ni\u00f1os have fueled wildfires, caused extreme flooding and severe droughts, prompted widespread coral bleaching and disrupted marine life migrations and foraging.<\/p>\n

How does El Ni\u00f1o affect hurricane season?Homeland Security secretary visits WNC for FEMA update<\/p>\n

1 of 27<\/p>\n

A worker marks a landing area ahead of the arrival of U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin in Chimney Rock on April 7, 2026.<\/p>\n

While El Ni\u00f1o tends to decrease tropical activity in the Atlantic ocean due to downdrafts and sinking winds associated with the phenomenon, the National Hurricane Center warns the public against letting their guard down. When comparing<\/a> 15 of the warmer El Ni\u00f1os on record, at least 37 named storms have made landfall in the contiguous U.S., including 14 hurricanes.<\/p>\n

North Carolina hurricanes in 2025, tropical activity<\/p>\n

A report from the NOAA<\/a> on 2025 tropical activity noted that only one storm, Tropical Storm Chantal, made landfall in the U.S. in 2025. Chantal brought excessive rainfall and flooding to N.C. While other storms did not make landfall, the report also noted that Hurricane Erin, a Category 5 storm, brought storm surge and tropical storm conditions to N.C.’s Outer Banks region. Other storms, including Hurricanes Humberto and Imelda, also affected North Carolina in 2025.<\/p>\n

Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at iseaton@citizentimes.com.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Will there be a strong El Ni\u00f1o in 2026? Impacts on NC hurricane season<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As summer approaches, meteorologists and climate scientists focus in on El Ni\u00f1o predictions. Attention has been drawn worldwide…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":484655,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[269],"tags":[211933,18,36750,211932,440,19,17,133],"class_list":{"0":"post-484654","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-climate-pattern","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-el-nino","11":"tag-el-ninos","12":"tag-environment","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-science"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116574141126431174","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=484654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/484655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=484654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=484654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=484654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}