Strong El Nino storms possible for California

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE , Calif., Aug. 13 (UPI) -- A weather forecast suggests the Pacific Ocean's strengthening El Nino, warming the water, has the potential to be the strongest on record.

"This definitely has the potential of being the Godzilla El Nino," said Bill Patzert, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory meteorologist, adding, "Everything now is going the right way for El Nino." Drought-stricken California could see heavy rains, mudslides and floods, beginning in the autumn.

A NOAA forecast calls the current conditions "significant and strengthening," with the potential to be the strongest since 1997-1998. Water temperatures could exceed two degrees Celsius higher than average; that benchmark, for three consecutive months, would classify the current El Nino as "very strong," and NOAA says there is a 90 percent chance the situation will continue through the winter.

Strong conditions, as developing currently, could push the jet stream so that rain normally in Central America and Mexico would shift to the western United States.

The condition could bring significant rain to California, where 12 to 20 inches within the next six months are necessary to relieve the drought. Snowfall in the Atlantic states is dependent on the final strength of El Nino; moderate conditions could bring heavy snowfall, while a strong situation would make temperatures too warm for snow.

Authorities in California warn that a wet winter will not solve the state's drought, which has prevailed for the past 15 years and could easily resume once the potential rainfall ends.