Forecasters say 2026 will see the world transitioning from the La Niña weather pattern to an unusually strong El Nino.
Weather experts say 2026 will see a shift from the cooler La Niña weather pattern to a super El Niño, which will warm the waters of the Central Pacific. Dr. Marshall Shepherd is the Georgia Athletic Association and Regents Professor and director of the atmospheric sciences program at the University of Georgia. He says that pattern could impact Georgia’s weather.
“Some of the leading indicators right now are suggesting that not only will we transition to an El Niño, but it could be one of the stronger one we’ve seen in over a hundred years,” according to Dr. Shepherd. “El Niño tends to bring warmer conditions for us, and so adding warm conditions and the potential for increased drought is a potential problem for many of us here in the state, for agriculture and so forth.”
Weather experts say that shift from the cooler La Niña to a super El Niño, will see the waters of the Central Pacific warm. Dr. Marshall Sherpherd says that pattern could impact Georgia’s weather.
Dr. Shepherd says hurricane activity tends to be suppressed during El Niño years.
