KEMETIC MINDS — UPDATED ANALYSIS
August 19, 2026
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center now puts the odds of a “very strong” El Niño this fall and winter above 90%, with a 69% chance the October-December period reaches a strength that would exceed every past El Niño on record[1][2]. That signal is why maps forecasting a snowier, stormier winter for parts of the U.S. have circulated widely this week[3] — but what the data actually shows, and does not show, is more specific than a single map headline.
What NOAA’s Own Numbers Show
- NOAA’s Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) — the official government measure of El Niño strength — has climbed from -0.4 in the Dec–Feb season to 1.4 in the May–Jul season, the fastest 6-month ramp-up on record for this point in the year[1].
- At the same point in the calendar, 2026’s ONI trajectory is already running warmer than the 1997 and 2015 super El Niño events — the two strongest on record, which peaked at 2.4 and 2.6 respectively[1].
- NOAA’s National Weather Service put the chance of a very strong event above 90% in its August 13 update[4], and the agency now gives a 69% chance the Oct–Dec period becomes “historic”[5].
- El Niño reshapes the Pacific jet stream, typically energizing storm tracks across the southern U.S. while the northern tier trends milder on average[6][5].
How This Year Compares to Past Super El Niños
NOAA publishes the ONI as a running 3-month average sea-surface-temperature anomaly in the equatorial Pacific; a reading of 1.5 or higher is NOAA’s threshold for a “strong” event. The chart below plots 2026’s trajectory against the two strongest El Niños on record, using NOAA’s own published data through the same point in each year[1].
Source: NOAA Climate Prediction Center, Oceanic Niño Index v6, ERSST.v6 sea-surface temperature data[1].
Which States Are Most in Play
Coverage of NOAA’s outlook this week has focused on the states where El Niño’s historical pattern points most clearly toward an active, snowier season:
- Southern tier (California to the Gulf Coast, including New Mexico): El Niño typically energizes the subtropical jet stream here, and outlooks point to a wetter, snowier season for New Mexico and the Southwest specifically, strongest early and late in winter[4].
- Ohio Valley and Midwest: An active subtropical jet during El Niño years tends to tilt the odds toward more frequent storm systems moving through the region[6].
- Northeast (e.g. Connecticut): NOAA’s long-range outlook favors above-normal temperatures into fall, with an El Niño-like pattern by winter — but NOAA does not issue seasonal snowfall forecasts, so a mild seasonal average does not rule out individual heavy snow events[5].
What’s Still Unconfirmed
NOAA’s seasonal outlooks describe the odds of temperatures and total precipitation running above, near, or below normal over three-month windows — they are not a forecast of how many storms will hit, or how much snow any single city will get[5]. The original map that circulated this week did not specify which states it covered or its exact source methodology[3]; this piece instead grounds its state-level claims in the outlets and outlook services cited above. Whether the October–December ONI actually crosses into “historic” territory won’t be confirmed until NOAA’s next monthly update.
The bottom line: the underlying signal — a rapidly strengthening El Niño running ahead of the two strongest events on record — is real and NOAA-confirmed. How that translates into snow on the ground in any specific state is still an outlook, not a guarantee.
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References
- NOAA Climate Prediction Center. (2026). Oceanic Niño Index (ONI): Historical El Niño/La Niña episodes. ↩a ↩b ↩c ↩d ↩e
- Anadolu Agency. (2026, August). EXPLAINER – ‘Historic’ El Niño looms with global impacts into 2027. ↩
- MSN. (2026, August 19). Map Shows States Facing Winter Storms In Coming Months Amid Possible ‘Super El Niño’. ↩a ↩b
- AOL/OpenSnow. (2026, August). Winter snow forecast map shows where El Niño could bring more snow. ↩a ↩b
- Yahoo News. (2026, August). With a very strong El Niño likely, what does NOAA’s 2026 winter outlook mean for snow? ↩a ↩b ↩c ↩d
- WBIW. (2026, August 19). Developing “Super” El Niño signals hint at unpredictable winter 2026-27. ↩a ↩b
Methodology: Revised August 19, 2026 to add NOAA’s primary-source Oceanic Niño Index data and multiple independent outlets after the original version relied on a single source with no chart. El Niño strength data (ONI) comes directly from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center; state-level impact claims are each tied to their own cited source above. No Wikipedia sources are used.