In December 1997, sea surface temperatures were higher and peaked in November (left). This year, the area of high sea levels is less intense but considerably broader (right). (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
“In 2014, the current El Niño teased us—wavering off and on,” Josh Willis, project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement.
“But in early 2015, atmospheric conditions changed, and El Niño steadily expanded in the central and eastern Pacific.”“In 2015, the area of high sea levels is larger,” Willis said. “This could mean we have not yet seen the peak of this El Niño.”
“All that water’s coming south, and we have to be ready for it,” Louisiana Lieutenant Governor-Elect Billy Nungesser told CNN. “It’s a serious concern. It’s early in the season. We usually don’t see this until much later.”
Hopefully we survive here in good old Santa Barbara, California!