Despite strong forecasts, 'Super' El Niño not set in stone yet

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- You may have seen headlines of doom and gloom come across your feed.

Weather forecasters are warning that a powerful El Niño could emerge soon in the Pacific Ocean, with widespread impacts for some.

However, even if a "Super" El Niño develops, we're unlikely to see any big changes in Michiana anytime soon.

El Niño refers to warming sea surface temperatures in the east-central Pacific Ocean due to weaker-than-normal trade winds.

An El Niño pattern, however, doesn't do much for Michiana's weather in the summer.

It will, however, likely mean fewer hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean this summer and fall.

As Northern Indiana National Weather Service Meteorologist Chris Roller explains, El Niño really starts to make itself known in Michiana during the winter months.

"Warmer temperatures begin to work into the area, lower chances for snowfall, as well as the lean towards drier than normal precipitation, as well as we head towards the winter timeframe," Roller explained.

The latest forecast from the Climate Prediction Center warns El Niño is likely to emerge soon, sometime over the next two months, and continue through the winter months.

Despite reports of a possible "Super" El Niño on the way, there is considerable uncertainty on how strong this year's pattern will be.

"As we emerge into that June timeframe, we'll probably have a better chance with identifying maybe how strong the [El Niño] is going to get," Roller said.

"Just looking at the current conditions, there's certainly the potential for at least a strong El Nino at this point," Roller added.