Developing El Nio may lead to wetter than normal summer

Remember the recent El Ni ño from last year? It was responsible for the lingering warmth that carried on into winter, amidst a weak La Niña. Well, it might be making a comeback and it could have an affect on our summer, but nothing to drastic.

Summer officially begins in one month and for many the unofficial kick-off begins Memorial Day weekend, when rain and storms are expected to headline the forecast. It’s no surprise we’re talking about more rain, because it’s been one of the wettest springs since 2013, with just over 17 inches of rain dating back to March 1. The question now though, is will this wet pattern continue into summer. Signs are slowly beginning to point to the likelihood of a wet and slightly cooler summer and it all depends on our global weather patterns.

While we have been out of an El Ni ño for many months now, the waters in the equatorial Pacific are once again heating up, which means El Ni ño could be developing as we head into summer.

El Ni ño doesn’t have a significant impact on Midwestern summers, but information gathered from the Midwestern Regional Climate Center shows it does affect our precipitation. The center says that during developing El Nino’s precipitation was slightly up through the summer along with cooler than normal temperatures.

Of course that all hinges on if an El Ni ño truly develops and right now the Climate Prediction Center says that ENSO-neutral and El Ni ño both have an equally favored to develop.

The latest outlook from the CPC shows that through August there is both an equal chance of seeing below or above average precipitation/temperature through this summer.

As for the rain this weekend, let’s hope it’s not a sign of what is to come.