NASA releases photos showing strong El Nino for 2016
LOS ANGELES (WTVD) -- In 1997, El Nino claimed 17 lives and caused more than half a billion dollars in damage throughout California, and it's starting to look like the 2016 El Nino could bring similar devastation.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Lap released a photo Tuesday, which showed the ocean warming based on data from its Jason-2 satellite. The patterns closely resemble images from December 1997.
"We do need to be cautious. It's not a guarantee that we'll receive a lot precipitation, but it definitely tilts the odds that we'll receive a wet winter," Mark Johnson said.
Jackson, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service, said not all strong El Ninos are alike.
El Nino is already being felt in other parts of the country. The Midwest received a lot of rain, which caused deadly floods, and storms in the Sierra Nevada dumped several feet of snow this month.
