The 2015 El Niño event is now neck-and-neck with [the] record-setting event of 1997-1998 in terms of its mid-summer intensity.
Chart shows sea surface temperature difference from average (in degrees Celsius) in central and eastern Tropical Pacific in 2015 (orange line) compared to 1997 (blue line). By definition, El Nino becomes established when the sea surface temperature difference from average in this region is 0.5 Celsius for at least one month. It becomes a moderate El Nino event at 1 degree Celsius, strong at 1.5 degrees, and very strong or "super" at 2 degrees. In mid-July 2015, the sea surface temperature difference from normal was around 1.5 degrees, on the cusp of a strong El Nino event and comparable to the 1997 event at the same time, which eventually became a super El Nino. The red dots represent the average model forecast for the rest of 2015 which shows the sea surface temperature difference from average climbing above 2 degrees, achieving super El Nino strength, but it is not forecast to be quite as strong as the 1997-1998 event .
Good news: lots of rain on the way to drought-stricken California. Bad news: mudslides.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Tork on Wednesday July 22 2015, @04:48PM
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 22 2015, @08:58PM
I live in California. There is a hill near here that's not particularly scary looking. It slid and
took out several houses. There are other hills and yes, even houses leaning over cliffs that look
scary. They've been there since the 40s or 50s, some of them.
It's all about the soil. You really can't judge just by looks sometimes... but yeah, the people
that live right by the beach with sea walls holding things together will suffer, and not all of them
are rich. There was a building like that in Pacifica or Daly City a few years ago that was on the
news. It was just a regular looking apartment building, not rich looking at all.