'Warning lights are flashing': Expert says El Niño has him 'officially concerned' ahead of winter season

A climate scientist has issued a stark warning about El Niño, saying the winter season this year in California could be unprecedented. Forecast models have warned of an extremely wet winter in the state this year. "We’ve never seen an event this big before in the context of our rapidly warming climate … The warning lights are flashing,” Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, wrote on social media.

He added, “Based on what I am seeing now, I am officially concerned." Swain said there is a high chance of destructive weather slamming California, with El Niño being the catalyst. Several US states are at risk of receiving extreme snowfall this year because of the weather phenomenon that has wreaked havoc in the world in 2026. "I’ve never seen such high predictive confidence in a very wet California winter,” he added.

Also Read: El Niño winter: 6 US states facing heavy snowfall, expert warns

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration previously said that sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific have reached 3 degrees Celsius above average. El Niño is not nearly done yet, and the effects will be felt well into the next year. NOAA said El Niño will continue to strengthen. It would reach historic levels and could smash all records linked to El Niños going as far back as 1950.

The odds of "dangerous weather and coastal conditions, including flash floods, burn scar debris flows, severe thunderstorms with damaging winds and tornadoes, coastal flooding, beach erosion and dangerous rip currents" are extremely high, National Weather Service Head Meteorologist Dr Ariel Cohen said.

California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency last month to prepare the state to face the potential impact of El Niño. Storm basins and drainage systems are being actively cleaned to prepare the state for the winter season, which could bring higher-than-normal precipitation.

Six US states to face extreme winter

Crystal Egger, a meteorologist and the president of Monarch Weather Consulting, previously pointed out six US states that could face extreme conditions. They are California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. She said, "El Niño winters mean a 'wetter storm track across the southern tier of the US. That can translate to above-average snowfall across parts of the southern and central Rockies and the higher elevations of the Southwest."