A record-strength Super El Niño expected to reach its peak this winter could bring an unusual benefit to New York City, even as other parts of the United States face an elevated threat of storms and flooding, forecasters said Thursday.
Based on sea-surface temperatures, the “behemoth” weather pattern could become more than six times stronger than a typical El Niño from November through January, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
“This is literally off the monitoring charts that we have used for the past four decades,” WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said Wednesday.
For New York City, the pattern could extend fall-like weather into January and deliver as much as 25% less snow than last winter, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Matt Benz told The Post.
“Fall will linger longer this year,” Benz said. “We expect winter to arrive later.”
“In the middle to end of January, we will start to get a taste of winter in the Tri-State area,” he said.
New York City recorded a punishing 43 inches of snow last year, but forecasters are calling for just 10 to 20 inches this winter, Benz said.
Much of the Northeast is also expected to experience a relatively mild winter under the influence of the powerful weather pattern.
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The outlook is far less favorable across parts of the Western United States, which are not expected to benefit from the Super El Niño.
“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.
Areas of the South, including the northern Gulf Coast, could also see more “heavy rain events,” Benz said.
Meanwhile, heavier snowfall is likely across the Rockies, the Sierra Nevada and sections of the Midwestern plains, he said.
“El Niño is a term that gets thrown around every year — but in this case, it could be one of the strongest on record,” Benz said.
Tom Fletcher, the UN’s emergency relief chief, described the Super El Niño on Wednesday as a “wrecking ball” capable of driving extreme heat, drought and flooding around the world.
“This El Niño is a behemoth,” Fletcher said.