El Niño Remains Strong; Wet California Winter Expected

SACRAMENTO (CBS13/AP) - This year's El Niño is staying unusually strong, and forecasters say it's still expected to bring a wet winter to drought-stricken California.

In an update Thursday, Mike Halpert of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told reporters the odds favor some significant winter storms in California.

El Niño is a warming in the Pacific Ocean that alters weather worldwide

Halper also said it's not clear what a strong El Niño will mean for the lack of snow so far in the Northeast.

The outlook calls for a wet winter across the southern U.S., and up the East Coast to southern New England. Halpert said that during previous strong El Niños, some southern areas including California and the Gulf Coast have had heavy rainfall and flooding.