El Niño is here, and it’s only getting stronger. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration … forecasts greater than 90% odds of a “strong” El Niño and a 63% chance of a “very strong” event by early winter. “That would rank among the largest El Niño events in the historical record going back to 1950,” NOAA said. … El Niño probably won’t significantly impact California’s weather this summer. An enhanced Pacific hurricane season may direct larger swells, more frequent dry lightning or a rare tropical storm toward the state, but the most pronounced effects are expected this winter. An El Niño in historic territory would favor all of California for above-normal precipitation this winter.

Other weather and water forecast news:

• Associated Press: El Niño is here and scientists fear it’ll be big, bad and costly with heat, floods, droughts, fires
• SFGate: Very strong El Niño could emerge. Here’s what California expects
• Los Angeles Times: A ‘very strong’ El Niño is likely. And it could hit California hard
• Weather West: Blog: A quick refresher: What is El Niño and how can it affect global weather patterns?
• PNAS: Driven by climate change, sudden swings between wet and dry create “hydrologic whiplash”