Missourians might have been hearing the terms “Monster El Niño,” or “Godzilla El Niño,” but a National Weather Service Meteorologist says that really doesn’t mean much for them.
Weather Forecasters say the El Niño predicted to impact U.S. weather through the winter will feature warmer temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific than ever recorded, but St. Louis Warning Coordination Meteorologist Jim Kramper says in Missouri even strong El Niños haven’t made much difference on the weather.
“Historically speaking, that’s what we’ve seen. There have always been a few anomalies here and there,” Kramper told Missourinet. “But generally speaking, strong El Niños do not cause big issues in terms of a very cold and wet winter for Missouri.”
Kramper notes, however, there are a limited number of past El Niños to compare to, so predictions are harder to make.
“If there’s any chance at all, right now Missouri would have a slight chance to maybe be a little bit above normal in and also maybe just a slight chance to be a little bit below normal for precip,” said Kramper.
Kramper says there is no data to suggest Missourians should be alarmed or change their winter plans because of predictions of a “monster” El Niño.