Super El Niño and What It Means For You

CENTRAL COAST REGION, Calif. (KEYT) – Your News Channel's First Alert Weather Team put together a detailed segment on common weather phenomena that is having a big impact recently.

"El Niño is a natural climate pattern that begins in the tropical Pacific Ocean," explained Your News Channel's Chief Meteorologist Mackenzie Lake. "During El Niño, [trade] winds weaken, allowing warmer than average water to spread across the Central and Eastern Equatorial Pacific. That warm water changes where heat and moisture enter the atmosphere"

That routine weather pattern can result in an increase storms in the Southern California region.

Earlier this month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shared that ocean temperatures in the tropical portions of the Pacific Ocean have climbed, meaning that a strong to very strong El Niño is likely to persist into early next year.

The federal agency shared their is a significant chance that the weather pattern reaches record-setting strength.

Notably, the weather could still weaken and result in less winter storms, but the chances are high there will be more storms than locals are used to experiencing.

Your News Channel First Alert Weather Team was joined by Rose Schoenfeld with the National Weather Service to break down the regional weather impacts as well as segments on how the local community prepares.

Be sure to check out Your News Channel's First Alert Weather Center for all the latest weather information in the local area.