By admin 
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — El Niño conditions are likely to develop by June as water temperatures across the equatorial Pacific continue to warm.
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Meteorologists monitor a section of the Pacific known as the Niño 3.4 region, and when sea surface temperatures there reach at least 0.5°C above average for a sustained period, El Niño is officially declared.
As of early May, temperatures in that region are already running about 0.4°C above average, putting the Pacific very close to the threshold. If warming continues as forecast, El Niño should officially emerge as we move into summer.
El Niño can have major impacts on weather patterns around the globe, including here in the United States. During Atlantic hurricane season, El Niño often increases wind shear across the tropics, making it harder for hurricanes to organize and strengthen. While it does not eliminate the threat of hurricanes, El Niño years are often associated with lower overall storm activity in the Atlantic Basin.
El Niño also tends to bring wetter-than-average conditions to the southern United States during the fall and winter months. That is important to remember, given how dry this year has started across central North Carolina. Interestingly, many of the wettest starts to a year locally occurred following strong El Niño winters.
For example, 1998 was the wettest start to a year on record in many parts of the region, following the historic 1997–98 El Niño event. Another extremely wet start occurred in 1987 after a strong El Niño winter pattern. In fact, nearly all of the top five wettest starts to a year have had some El Niño influence.
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As summer approaches and more people head to the coast, it is also important to remember one of the deadliest weather-related dangers at the beach: rip currents. Rip currents are the leading weather-related killer along the coast each year, yet many people do not know how to identify them or survive one safely.
One of the easiest ways to spot a rip current is to look for an area where the waves appear smaller or more chaotic between areas of breaking surf. You may also notice a darker channel of water or a “U”-shaped cut in the sand where water is funneling back offshore.
Rip currents often form along the down-current side of these deeper channels. If you are caught in a rip current, do not try to swim directly back to shore against the current. Instead, swim parallel to the coastline until you escape the narrow channel of fast-moving water, then angle back toward shore.
If you are unable to swim out of it immediately, float calmly and conserve energy until the current weakens. If you see someone trapped in a rip current, call 911 and try to direct them verbally toward safety. Never enter the water to attempt a rescue unless you have proper flotation equipment, such as a surfboard or rescue device.
Tragically, many rip current fatalities involve people attempting rescues rather than the original victim.
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