El Niño conditions have officially developed in the tropical Pacific, and weather experts say it will intensify, possibly into a Super El Niño. LSU Health Climatologist Barry Keim says the most immediate impact to Louisiana’s weather is the higher chances of a quiet hurricane season.
“It tends to knock down the number of tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin. So even though it originates in the Pacific, it disrupts the circulation patterns, even in the Atlantic,” Keim explained.
NOAA says there is a 63% chance of a Super El Niño, which would reduce the number of tropical storms even more. Keim says we’ve had Super El Niños in the past.
“2015-2016 was a Super El Niño. We had another one back in ’97-’98, and another one in 1982 and 1983. It’s not like, they’re not common, obviously; but they don’t happen every year,” Keim noted.
Keim says not only does El Niño produce a quieter Atlantic hurricane season, but it can also produce a wetter and cooler winter and spring if it hangs around that long.
“It keeps us, basically, stocked in with clouds a lot; relatively cool and rainy. So that’s what we can anticipate going into the fall and winter,” Keim said.