Get ready to hear a lot more about El Niño during the next several months. That Spanish phrase, which means "Christ Child" and is pronounced el NEEN-yoh, is an infamous climate cycle that disrupts global weather patterns. If it forms as forecast by late summer or early fall, this El Niño can bring heat extremes globally. Past occurrences have intensified rain and snow along the U.S. West Coast.

Scientists see increasing signs that the 2026-27 impact could be a significant – perhaps even an extremely intense "Super El Niño." This complex climate pattern, seen every two to seven years and typically lasting nine to 12 months, is caused by a weakening or reversal of the normal easterly trade winds. That raises sea surface temperatures above their long-term average in the Southern and Eastern Pacific Ocean. Abnormally warm tropical water, in turn, shifts where storms form as winds and precipitation patterns change in the atmosphere. Those shifts are significant enough to affect weather worldwide, like a series of dominoes toppling. The last El Niño made 2024 the hottest year on record globally.

In the U.S., El Niño tends to have its peak effects during winter. That's when it can send storms into parts of California and along coastal states in the South -- bringing flood risks, along with benefits such as replenished soil moisture, higher reservoir levels and agricultural support. Strong El Niños also have been linked to heat waves in our country and elsewhere. Flooding is possible in Africa, southeastern South America and parts of south-central Asia. Drought and wildfires could hit Australia and northern sections of South America. Meteorologists are watching closely as the Pacific heats up to see just how strong an El Niño we could get this time.

U.S. specialist says: "These weather and climate impacts modify crop yields, disease spread, coral bleaching, fisheries and many other parts of the earth system that affect our daily lives." -- Nat Johnson, meteorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Last three Super El Niño cycles: 2015-2016 and 1997-98 and 1982-83.

Name origin: El Niño was first noticed in the 1600s by fishermen off the coast of South America near Peru and Ecuador. They named it Christ Child in Spanish because it typically occurred around Christmas.