Super El Nino is 'off the charts' — and that could be oddly good for NYC, but spell trouble for other parts of US this winter

An off-the-charts Super El Niño that’s expected to peak this winter could be oddly good for New York City — while other parts of the US may be slammed by storms and flooding, forecasters said Thursday. The “behemoth” weather system — measured by sea surface temperatures — could rise to more than six times that of a typical El Niño between November and January, according to the World Meteorological Organization. “This is literally off the monitoring charts that we have used for the past four decades,” Celeste Saulo, secretary of the WMO, said Wednesday.

In the Big Apple, it could make weather feel like autumn into January — with up to a quarter less snow forecast this winter than last, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Matt Benz told The Post. 4 Chart of Super El Nino. WMO “Fall will linger longer this year,” Benz said. “We expect winter to arrive later.” Explore More Boston dad convicted of sexually abusing teen girl on flight while traveling with wife and 4 kids Kamala Harris gets crickets from rally crowd after butchering motivational quote: ‘Let me repeat that’ Ilhan Omar isn’t ‘Squad’ rep’s real name as feds’ bombshell docs give huge clue she did marry brother “In the middle to end of January, we will start to get taste of winter in the Tri-State area,” he said.

While a brutal 43 inches of snow fell last year in New York City, only 10 to 20 inches are forecast this year, he said. Much of the Northeastern US is also expected to have a mild winter due to the weather system. 4 Heavy snow in Manhattan Stephen Yang for NY Post Parts of the Western US, however, won’t benefit from Super El Nino. “Northern California could see frequent storms with rain and wind — and coastal storms with erosion,” Benz said.

“California and the desert southwest are at the highest risk of flooding,” he said. Parts of the Southern US, including the Northern Gulf Coast, are expected to have more “heavy rain events” he said. 4 Hundreds of people gather for a snowball fight in Washington Square Park in Manhattan, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. Paul Martinka for NY Post 4 Dark storm clouds hover over the city of Los Angeles during a break between storms. Getty Images Meanwhile, the Rockies, the Sierra Nevadas and parts of the Midwestern plains will likely be hit with heavier snowfall, he said.

“El Nino is a term that gets thrown around every year — but in this case, it could be one of the strongest on record,” said Benz. On Wednesday, the UN’s emergency relief chief, Tom Fletcher, described the Super El Niño as “a wrecking ball” with extreme heat, droughts and floods globally. “This El Niño is a behemoth,” Fletcher said.