CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Chicago has had summer-like weather this week, but winter is never far away — and this year, El Niño is expected to impact the season's forecasts.
El Niño refers to a warming of the ocean surface in the Pacific Ocean, and the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center said there is a "greater than 95% chance" that El Niño will continue through the Northern Hemisphere this winter.
"If El Nino plays the type; if it dominates the global winter weather pattern, [then] it's very likely we'll have a warmer, drier winter," said Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford. "If it lags a bit; if there's some other player that we can't really forecast or predict very well … then we may get a little bit of a different pattern."
Chicagoans are used to cold, snowy winters, but that has been changing.
"Strong, warmer and wetter trends in winter time in Chicago are important to consider when we think about what this winter looks like," he said.
Listen to our new podcast Looped In: Chicago
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!
Sign up and follow WBBM Newsradio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram





