This year’s El Niño might be one of the strongest on record, but its impacts on Colorado’s weather — and upcoming snow season — are still to be determined, climate and weather experts say.  The El Niño, a climate pattern that begins in the Pacific Ocean, can drive dry periods in some regions while others are hit by storms. And this year, it is already strong and likely to keep growing, according to forecasts. But because of Colorado’s inland location, and other factors that influence its weather cycle, climatologists aren’t yet ready to promise relief from this summer’s punishing drought. … Western Colorado falls in an in-between area — there’s a 50-50 chance that it would be a wetter or drier year than usual.

Other El Niño news:

• Reno Gazette Journal (Nev.): What will El Niño bring Tahoe this winter? What forecasts say
• KBAK (Bakersfield, Calif.): How Kern County homeowners can prepare for potential El Niño storms
• Los Angeles Times: California’s beaches are being eaten away. El Niño could redraw the coast as we know it
• The Atlantic: This El Niño will be unlike any in the past eight decades