'El Niño' might spell 'El Finito' for North Texas drought

[TexasStooge]

By JACK BEAVERS / WFAA.com

There’s hope for an end to one of the longest droughts in North Texas history. U.S. climate researchers today announced that “El Niño” conditions have developed in the tropical Pacific. If the “El Niño” strengthens past experience suggests above-average late fall or winter precipitation for North Texas. At minimum, a repeat of the terribly dry conditions we saw last winter appears unlikely.

El Niño is a shift in the large scale atmosphere/ocean pattern most easily recognized by warmer than normal ocean temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean, and weaker than normal easterly trade winds in the tropical Pacific.

The strength of the upcoming El Niño event will play a role in influencing weather conditions over north Texas from the late fall into early 2007. Weak El Niño events tend to have a lesser impact on our precipitation, while stronger events bring a higher likelihood of above-average precipitation. Scientists in the National Weather Service’s Fort Worth office say that while extreme cold outbreaks are uncommon in North Texas during El Niño winters, the increased cloud cover and precipitation would result in cooler than average temperatures.

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Maybe...just MAYBE we could get some lakes, creeks, and rivers filled up.