El Niño is back, and it might be bigger than ever. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared in June that the threshold for an El Niño had been met in the eastern Pacific Ocean, and that it was likely to strengthen significantly through the end of the year. … For the Central Valley and Sierra, the question is also not just how much precipitation falls, but the form it takes. Thanks to warmer ocean waters, El Niño storms tend to be warmer, allowing them to physically hold more moisture. That pushes the rain-snow line higher up the mountains, meaningthat some precipitation that should be piling up as snowpack instead runs off as rain. … A strong El Niño could deliver even more precipitation this coming winter. However, if the storms are warm, the Sierra snowpack may fail to recover even in a wet year.

Other El Niño news:

• Los Angeles Times: El Niño is back: What a ‘very strong’ climate pattern could mean for California this winter
• CBS Sacramento (Calif.): Scientists warn powerful El Niño is likely, but California’s winter remains uncertain
• The Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.): El Niño is here: Five major myths about what it is and what it could mean for California’s weather
• SFGate: Elida starts a ‘conga line’ of tropical storms. Here’s what California expects.