Increased Typhoons in the Pacific due to Formation of New El Nino

There is more good evidence of an El Nino forming in the Pacific– warming water is increasing typhoons, on both sides of the Equator.  In addition, there are westerly winds forming which push the warm water in the Pacific towards South America.  Normally there is a cold water current there, along the coast of Peru.  If enough subsurface warm water is pushed from the eastern Pacific to Peru, the cold water current will be interrupted.  Reversal of the normal cold flow can reinforce the el Nino effect.

There has been a record warmth in the central Pacific, and typhoon activity has been three times normal.  There are indications that this el Nino event may be one of the strongest on record.  El Nino will push temperatures up and shift rainfall patterns worldwide.  There is hope that el Nino will end the drought in the Southwest.  The drought has also set records, now running at a shortfall of rain not seen in over a thousand years.  The last time drought was this severe, the Anasazi were forced out of their cliff houses and abandoned the Southwest.

At any rate, there is an early indication that there will be rain coming to California and the rest of the Southwest.  There have been severe rainfall events in Texas already.  The weather in the San Joaquin Valley is unusually cool for this time of year.  There are clouds with water in them all around, including thunderstorms in the Sierra Nevada.  There is at last optimism that the drought will break.