Strong El Niño Now Likely, Threatening Severe Weather and Flooding in California

—Climate scientists say a strong El Niño event is now increasingly likely to develop, with projections indicating it could bring severe weather, heavy precipitation, and flooding to California as early as late 2026. Scientists warn the next El Niño could be one of the strongest in decades, with global temperature records potentially broken again. California, still recovering from catastrophic fires and drought cycles, faces a whiplash risk as El Niño conditions can bring both drought-breaking rains and destructive mudslides. Emergency management agencies are being warned to prepare infrastructure. The warming of Pacific sea surface temperatures that drives El Niño has been accelerating faster than earlier models predicted.