The winter season in the U.S. could be affected by the El Niño phenomenon as it gains strength in the Pacific, government forecasters said. El Nino – ‘little boy’ in Spanish – is an abnormal warming of waters in the equatorial Pacific every four to five years, which can wreak havoc on weather patterns across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.
Temperatures in most areas in the North will be warmer and drier than average, while the South chiefly will experience below-average temperatures, the government experts added. But other forecasters earlier predicted the coming winter could be the stormiest and coldest as El Niño conditions show signs of weakening.
What It Means to Agents: Note that these weather forecasters disagree. One group says the Northeast will get a warmer-than-usual winter. Another group says the Northeast will experience a colder-than usual winter. This brings up the age-old question: can anybody really predict the weather?
El Niño Could Affect Winter, Or Maybe Not (Insurance Journal 10/19/09)
October 21, 2009