{"id":445799,"date":"2026-05-22T00:05:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T07:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=445799"},"modified":"2026-05-22T00:05:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T07:05:20","slug":"about-that-super-el-nino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=445799","title":{"rendered":"About That \u201cSuper El Ni\u00f1o\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"578\" data-attachment-id=\"445801\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=445801\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0-ChatGPT-Super-El-Nino.png?fit=1402%2C1122&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1402,1122\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"0 ChatGPT \u201cSuper El Ni\u00f1o\u201d\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0-ChatGPT-Super-El-Nino.png?fit=723%2C578&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0-ChatGPT-Super-El-Nino.png?resize=723%2C578&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-445801\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0-ChatGPT-Super-El-Nino.png?resize=1024%2C819&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0-ChatGPT-Super-El-Nino.png?resize=300%2C240&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0-ChatGPT-Super-El-Nino.png?resize=768%2C615&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0-ChatGPT-Super-El-Nino.png?resize=640%2C512&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0-ChatGPT-Super-El-Nino.png?resize=1200%2C960&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0-ChatGPT-Super-El-Nino.png?w=1402&amp;ssl=1 1402w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From <a href=\"https:\/\/wattsupwiththat.com\/2026\/05\/20\/about-that-super-el-nino\/\">Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By <a href=\"https:\/\/wattsupwiththat.com\/author\/jeeztheadmin\/\">Charles Rotter<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Thursday, May 14, the NOAA Climate Prediction Center issued its monthly&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov\/products\/analysis_monitoring\/enso_advisory\/ensodisc.shtml\">ENSO Diagnostic Discussion<\/a>. Within hours, CNN ran a piece under the headline:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/05\/14\/weather\/super-el-nino-climate\">A Super El Ni\u00f1o is coming. Here\u2019s how a hotter ocean could change the weather near you.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The piece opens by telling readers that El Ni\u00f1o is \u201cemerging even faster than expected in the Pacific Ocean and odds are increasing that it could become historically strong, a rare \u2018Super\u2019 El Ni\u00f1o, by fall or winter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That framing is worth examining, because it does not appear in the NOAA discussion the article is built on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What the forecast actually says<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The May 8 ENSO Diagnostic Discussion is direct about current conditions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ENSO-neutral conditions are present. Equatorial sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are near-to-above-average across the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. El Ni\u00f1o is likely to emerge soon (82% chance in May-July 2026) and continue through Northern Hemisphere winter 2026-27 (96% chance in December 2026 \u2013 February 2027).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The El Ni\u00f1o Watch is real. The probability of an El Ni\u00f1o appearing this summer is high. The probability of one persisting into winter is very high. None of that is in dispute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What gets less attention is what comes next. The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov\/products\/analysis_monitoring\/lanina\/enso_evolution-status-fcsts-web.pdf\">CPC\u2019s probabilistic strength forecast<\/a>&nbsp;assigns roughly a 2-in-3 chance that the November\u2013January 2026-27 peak will be classified as \u201cstrong or very strong.\u201d It assigns roughly a 1-in-3 chance that the event peaks as a Super El Ni\u00f1o, defined as a Ni\u00f1o-3.4 relative SST anomaly exceeding 2.0\u00b0C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 1-in-3 chance, as a matter of statistics, is what one would more commonly describe as \u201cunlikely.\u201d Coin-flip outcomes do not normally get headlines reading \u201cHeads is coming.\u201d The increment from last month\u2019s 1-in-4 probability, a single CPC update earlier, has nonetheless been packaged as a developing trend toward something \u201chistorically strong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The forecaster running the desk is more measured. Michelle L\u2019Heureux, who leads El Ni\u00f1o and La Ni\u00f1a forecasting at the Climate Prediction Center,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.com\/US\/el-nio-expected-develop-strength-remains-uncertain\/story?id=132965751\">told ABC News<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is substantial uncertainty in the ultimate strength of El Ni\u00f1o. While there is a 2-in-3 chance of a strong or very strong El Ni\u00f1o for the November-January 2026-27 season, there is still a 1-in-3 chance of an event weaker than that.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The CPC\u2019s own update is similarly careful:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stronger El Ni\u00f1o events do not ensure strong impacts; they can only make certain impacts more likely.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The conditions that have to line up<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For a Super El Ni\u00f1o to develop, two systems have to remain in phase. The tropical Pacific upper-ocean heat content has to stay elevated, and the atmospheric circulation has to respond in a way that reinforces the oceanic anomaly rather than damping it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The current subsurface signal is favorable. Per the CPC\u2019s evolution status document, \u201cnegative subsurface temperature anomalies emerged in mid-July 2025 and persisted through mid-December 2025. From mid-December 2025 through late April 2026, positive anomalies developed and gradually increased.\u201d The upper-ocean heat content anomaly is now above average and the thermocline slope index is below average, both consistent with the early stages of a warm event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The atmospheric piece is the open question. L\u2019Heureux explained the requirement to ABC News:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">El Ni\u00f1o depends on the tropical Pacific ocean and atmosphere interacting in a way that reinforces the event. For example, we need to see weaker than average trade winds along the equatorial Pacific Ocean because that will help keep the ocean surface temperatures above average.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That coupling is what separates the strong events from the merely warm ones. The strongest El Ni\u00f1os in the historical record are characterized by sustained ocean-atmosphere coupling through the summer, and whether that coupling materializes this year is what the spring forecast cannot yet resolve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The spring predictability barrier<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ENSO forecasters have a name for the uncertainty L\u2019Heureux is describing. It is called the spring predictability barrier, and it refers to the well-documented tendency for ENSO forecasts issued in boreal spring to perform worse than forecasts issued at other times of year. The tropical Pacific in late spring and early summer sits at a transition point where the coupled ocean-atmosphere system is most sensitive to initial conditions, and forecast skill collapses accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is not a quibble from skeptics. The World Meteorological Organization, in its most recent&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/wmo.int\/media\/news\/wmo-likelihood-increases-of-el-nino\">Global Seasonal Climate Update<\/a>, states the issue plainly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Models indicate that this may be a strong event, but the so-called spring predictability barrier is a challenge for the certainty of forecasts at this time of year.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The WMO is even more cautious about the upper bound:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While some model forecasts indicate the possibility of stronger conditions later in the year, there is currently no consensus or sufficient confidence to confirm or exclude a high-intensity event.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That is the operating expert community describing a forecast that the press is presenting as a near-certainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The buried admission<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among the more striking numbers in the current forecast cycle is one that has not received much coverage. The same NOAA office that issued the El Ni\u00f1o Watch, NOAA\u2019s National Centers for Environmental Information, has also issued its outlook for 2026 global temperature rankings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to that outlook, there is a 96% probability that 2026 ranks among the five warmest years in the instrumental record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is a less than 1% probability that 2026 sets a new record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That admission deserves a moment. After three years in which \u201cwarmest year on record\u201d headlines have followed every January with metronomic regularity, the agency that produces those rankings has now publicly assessed that even with a developing El Ni\u00f1o, even with a 2-in-3 chance of a strong or very strong event, 2026 has effectively no chance of beating the recent peak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The implication is straightforward. The 2023\u20132024 spike, the one attributed at the time to everything from anthropogenic forcing to the Hunga Tonga eruption to the IMO 2020 reduction in marine sulfate emissions, has subsided. NCEI now puts the probability of clearing it this year at less than 1%, and the probability of clearing it next year depends entirely on whether the developing El Ni\u00f1o manages to peak in the upper portion of its forecast distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is the kind of quiet methodological update that ought to inform public framing of climate trends. Instead, it sits under a 96% top-five-warmest headline that obscures the more interesting structural detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The 2015-16 precedent<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Comparison to the last Super El Ni\u00f1o is worth doing carefully. The 2015\u201316 event was, in NOAA\u2019s records dating to 1950, the strongest El Ni\u00f1o ever observed. It cleared the 2.0\u00b0C Ni\u00f1o-3.4 threshold and remained there for an extended period. By every standard objective metric it was, in fact, super.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The CNN article concedes that even a super event\u2019s predicted impacts do not necessarily materialize:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 2015-2016 Super El Ni\u00f1o delivered on its reputation of causing serious drought in the Caribbean, but also failed to produce the wetter than average winter it\u2019s known for in Southern California.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Southern California\u2019s expected El Ni\u00f1o response, wetter winters, replenished reservoirs, drought relief, is the canonical impact in the popular imagination. The 2015\u201316 event was the largest El Ni\u00f1o on record. It failed to produce that response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The CPC\u2019s standard caveat, that strong events make certain impacts \u201cmore likely\u201d but do not ensure them, is doing a lot of work here. In the most extreme observed case, in the region with the most widely publicized expected impact, the relationship did not hold. That is the kind of empirical result that should temper confident projections about what a possibly-Super-and-probably-not El Ni\u00f1o will do to weather patterns nine to twelve months out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One technical change is worth flagging because it affects how this event will be compared to its predecessors. In February 2026, NOAA&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.weather.gov\/media\/notification\/pdf_2026\/pns26-05_Relative_ONI.pdf\">moved to a relative ONI methodology<\/a>, in which the Ni\u00f1o-3.4 SST anomaly is computed as the departure from the tropical-mean SST rather than from a fixed climatological base period. The relative index is then rescaled to match the variance of the traditional index.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The motivation is reasonable: with the entire tropics warming, the older absolute-anomaly approach was producing El Ni\u00f1o classifications during periods when the equatorial Pacific was not, in fact, anomalously warm relative to the surrounding ocean. The relative index isolates the actual ENSO signal more cleanly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The practical effect is that direct comparisons between the 2015\u201316 event under the old methodology and a possible 2026\u201327 event under the new methodology require some care. A \u201cSuper\u201d classification today is not measuring exactly the same quantity it measured a decade ago. This is a defensible scientific update, but it is worth noting whenever the \u201cstrongest on record\u201d framing is invoked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">None of this is to suggest that there is no El Ni\u00f1o developing, or that NOAA\u2019s forecasters are wrong about the probabilities they are publishing. The CPC\u2019s discussions are careful, the probability ranges are reasonable, and the model agreement on emergence by mid-year is broad and consistent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The issue is the translation layer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The forecast says: 82% chance of El Ni\u00f1o emerging by July, 96% chance of persistence into winter, 2-in-3 chance of peaking strong or very strong, 1-in-3 chance of clearing the Super threshold, substantial uncertainty in ultimate strength, spring predictability barrier limiting confidence, no expert consensus on high-intensity scenarios, and a less than 1% chance that 2026 sets a new annual temperature record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The coverage says: \u201cA Super El Ni\u00f1o is coming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These are not the same statement. One is a probability distribution with explicit uncertainty bounds drawn by the forecaster running the desk. The other is a declarative claim about a specific outcome at the upper tail of that distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The CPC has done the responsible thing by publishing the underlying probabilities, by quoting its own scientist\u2019s uncertainty caveats, and by including the standard reminder that impacts do not follow mechanically from category. The next ENSO Diagnostic Discussion is scheduled for June 11. By then the spring predictability barrier will have started to dissolve, and the probability ranges will tighten. Whether they tighten upward toward a Super event or downward toward a routine moderate one is, at this point, genuinely unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the meantime, \u201ccould become historically strong\u201d is what the forecast actually allows. \u201cIs coming\u201d is what the headline says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Thursday, May 14, the NOAA Climate Prediction Center issued its monthly ENSO Diagnostic Discussion. Within hours, CNN ran a piece under the headline:<\/p>\n<p>A Super El Ni\u00f1o is coming. Here\u2019s how a hotter ocean could change the weather near you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":445801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691819287,691834384,691843214,691836015,691828840,691826905,691826085],"class_list":["post-445799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-el-nino-2","tag-enso-el-nino-southern-oscillation-2","tag-enso-diagnostic-discussion","tag-forecasting","tag-model-forecasts","tag-sea-surface-temperatures-ssts","tag-super-el-nino","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1RYj","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":446603,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=446603","url_meta":{"origin":445799,"position":0},"title":"Super El Nino Coming! Or\u00a0not.","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"05\/26\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"An El Ni\u00f1o is highly likely to develop soon (this summer 2026) and persist through the Northern Hemisphere winter 2026\u201327, but whether it becomes a true \u201csuper\u201d El Ni\u00f1o remains uncertain.","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-dioxide-co%e2%82%82"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0-Super-El-Nino-Coming-Or-not.jpg?fit=1168%2C784&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0-Super-El-Nino-Coming-Or-not.jpg?fit=1168%2C784&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0-Super-El-Nino-Coming-Or-not.jpg?fit=1168%2C784&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0-Super-El-Nino-Coming-Or-not.jpg?fit=1168%2C784&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0-Super-El-Nino-Coming-Or-not.jpg?fit=1168%2C784&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":449836,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=449836","url_meta":{"origin":445799,"position":1},"title":"Here Comes the Super Mega Ultimate Hyper Giga Godzilla El Ni\u00f1o","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"06\/11\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Pacific is boiling. The trade winds have surrendered. Sea surface temperatures just hit \"oh hell no\" levels, and this absolute unit of a kaiju is rising from the depths like a bad omen wrapped in a Category 5 hurricane.Name: Godzill Ni\u00f1o 3000 Height: 400 feet of pure chaotic neutral\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"el Ni\u00f1o\"","block_context":{"text":"el Ni\u00f1o","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=el-nino-2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0-Copilot-ROOOAAAAARRRR-Here-comes-the-Super-Mega-Ultimate-Hyper-Giga-Godzilla-El-Nino.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0-Copilot-ROOOAAAAARRRR-Here-comes-the-Super-Mega-Ultimate-Hyper-Giga-Godzilla-El-Nino.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0-Copilot-ROOOAAAAARRRR-Here-comes-the-Super-Mega-Ultimate-Hyper-Giga-Godzilla-El-Nino.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0-Copilot-ROOOAAAAARRRR-Here-comes-the-Super-Mega-Ultimate-Hyper-Giga-Godzilla-El-Nino.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/0-Copilot-ROOOAAAAARRRR-Here-comes-the-Super-Mega-Ultimate-Hyper-Giga-Godzilla-El-Nino.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":301633,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=301633","url_meta":{"origin":445799,"position":2},"title":"Strong El Nino Conditions Prevails at The End of January 2024","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"02\/13\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The classification of El Ni\u00f1o events, including the strength labels, is somewhat subjective and can vary among meteorological and climate agencies. There isn\u2019t a strict rule defining the specific number of consecutive Oceanic Ni\u00f1o Index (ONI) values that must be 2.0\u00b0C or above to categorize an El Ni\u00f1o event as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"climate model\"","block_context":{"text":"climate model","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-model"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/00el_nino_globe.v2.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/00el_nino_globe.v2.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/00el_nino_globe.v2.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/00el_nino_globe.v2.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/00el_nino_globe.v2.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":339497,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=339497","url_meta":{"origin":445799,"position":3},"title":"NOAA Criteria Suggest Full-Fledged La Ni\u00f1a Unlikely in 2024 \u2013 Even A Single La Ni\u00f1a Threshold Unlikely During the Indian Southwest Monsoon","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/13\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Concluding from the above analysis, Enso Neutral conditions will prevail for JJA2024 and at the end of August, since only four months will be left in the current year 2024 full-fledged La Nina cannot be established, even if La Nina thresh hold is achieved in any of the four months\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate Prediction Center (CPC)\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate Prediction Center (CPC)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-prediction-center-cpc"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0-La-Nina.jpeg?fit=1200%2C806&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0-La-Nina.jpeg?fit=1200%2C806&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0-La-Nina.jpeg?fit=1200%2C806&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0-La-Nina.jpeg?fit=1200%2C806&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0-La-Nina.jpeg?fit=1200%2C806&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":392991,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=392991","url_meta":{"origin":445799,"position":4},"title":"Climate Oscillations 11: Oceanic Ni\u00f1o Index (ONI)","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/05\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Oceanic Ni\u00f1o Index or\u00a0ONI\u00a0is NOAA\u2019s primarily indicator for monitoring the sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly in the critical Ni\u00f1o 3.4 region. It is a 3-month running mean of ERSST.v5 SST anomalies in the Ni\u00f1o 3.4 region, defined as 5\u00b0N-5\u00b0S and 120\u00b0W-170\u00b0W. Figure 1 shows the ONI as computed from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate Oscillations\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate Oscillations","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-oscillations"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQM1yAaYgc1bunnkL8sOya59GvZHjD_7bkZrzDUL-2lGvUsGLIqQqF5EzSbr9km0FznsGchR2yu1uYa27QNY9M5TCyvKhSKOrqmybFoQYq7emW8CIFtdzadrzmD3h9CLnJ9z-eskLA-ycD0KPsxFPlqIEgUS-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQM1yAaYgc1bunnkL8sOya59GvZHjD_7bkZrzDUL-2lGvUsGLIqQqF5EzSbr9km0FznsGchR2yu1uYa27QNY9M5TCyvKhSKOrqmybFoQYq7emW8CIFtdzadrzmD3h9CLnJ9z-eskLA-ycD0KPsxFPlqIEgUS-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQM1yAaYgc1bunnkL8sOya59GvZHjD_7bkZrzDUL-2lGvUsGLIqQqF5EzSbr9km0FznsGchR2yu1uYa27QNY9M5TCyvKhSKOrqmybFoQYq7emW8CIFtdzadrzmD3h9CLnJ9z-eskLA-ycD0KPsxFPlqIEgUS-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQM1yAaYgc1bunnkL8sOya59GvZHjD_7bkZrzDUL-2lGvUsGLIqQqF5EzSbr9km0FznsGchR2yu1uYa27QNY9M5TCyvKhSKOrqmybFoQYq7emW8CIFtdzadrzmD3h9CLnJ9z-eskLA-ycD0KPsxFPlqIEgUS-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/0AQM1yAaYgc1bunnkL8sOya59GvZHjD_7bkZrzDUL-2lGvUsGLIqQqF5EzSbr9km0FznsGchR2yu1uYa27QNY9M5TCyvKhSKOrqmybFoQYq7emW8CIFtdzadrzmD3h9CLnJ9z-eskLA-ycD0KPsxFPlqIEgUS-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":439097,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=439097","url_meta":{"origin":445799,"position":5},"title":"Is a Super El Nino Coming?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"04\/13\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Forecasts are probabilistic, so plan for a range of outcomes rather than betting on the most dramatic scenario.","rel":"","context":"In \"dynamical models\"","block_context":{"text":"dynamical models","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=dynamical-models"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-Is-a-Super-El-Nino-Coming.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-Is-a-Super-El-Nino-Coming.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-Is-a-Super-El-Nino-Coming.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0-Is-a-Super-El-Nino-Coming.jpg?fit=784%2C1168&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0-ChatGPT-Super-El-Nino.png?fit=1402%2C1122&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=445799"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":445807,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/445799\/revisions\/445807"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/445801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=445799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=445799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=445799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}