A Super El Niño in the Bay Area: What You Need to Know – KQED

A Super El Niño in the Bay Area: What You Need to Know  KQED

Officials say there’s a 69% chance that this El Niño could exceed the strength of any El Niño dating back to 1950. The Bay Area is getting ready for a ‘Super El Niño’ this winter. This natural weather pattern, — made worse by human-caused climate change — could bring flooding, mudslides, power outages and road closures. KQED Climate reporter Ezra David Romero explains how we might feel the impact of El Niño in our day to day lives. This transcript is computer-generated. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors. Ericka Cruz Guevarra: I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra and welcome to The Bay, local news to keep you rooted. Scientists have been warning about a super El Niño this year, which will bring wetter than normal weather to the Bay Area.

But what is an El Niño? Ezra David Romero: Yeah, that’s like the million-dollar question, right? I mean, this is a big scary thing that we see all these headlines about. Ericka Cruz Guevarra: El Nino weather events have been happening for thousands of years. It’s when tropical winds shift in the Pacific, warming ocean water. And when the ocean warms, it could reshape weather systems, bringing stormy weather to California and disrupting marine life. Ezra David Romero: Warm water, the ocean, affects how weather happens all around