A strong El Niño could mean a harsh NYC winter with nor’easters slashing the Big Apple in January and February.
The storms could be “historically strong,” according to the Climate Prediction Center, which released its latest El Niño update on Oct. 12 and reported a 30% chance of a weather event “that rivals 2015-16 and 1997-98.”
“January 2016, El Nino New York City saw the biggest blizzard it’s ever had,” meteorologist Amy Freeze told Fox News.
That storm, the biggest on record in the Big Apple, produced more than 2 feet of snow in Central Park.
The weather phenomenon of El Niño occurs when an area of warmer than average water develops near the equator in the Pacific Ocean.
That water impacts the atmosphere around the world, more so in the winter, and its effects can range from heavy precipitation to droughts.
“Cold temperatures should prevail throughout the country and bring snow, sleet, and ice,” according to the Farmer’s Almanac, which predicts East Coast storms during the second week of February and first week of March.
The Northeast will get more snow than usual — but not during the holiday season, the Old Farmer’s Almanac forecasts.
“Winter precipitation and snowfall will be above normal. The snowiest periods will occur at the end of December, late January, and mid-February,” it said. “We don’t expect a white Christmas.”
An El Niño occurs on average every three to five years and extends from the west coast of South America through the Central Pacific.
