One of the biggest weather stories in the world is developing right now in the Pacific Ocean. A so-called “Super El Niño” is warming the water, threatening to create extreme weather conditions across the U.S.

But what will it mean for the Tri-state area?

El Niño is a very complex climate pattern where the temperature of the water in the Pacific Ocean is actually running warmer than normal, and that has effects globally. What causes this is the upper-level winds.

The westerly winds over the equator actually slow down or reverse this direction. It makes that warmer water pool up near South America or near Mexico, and in turn, that creates an area of low pressure or stormy conditions because the water is warmer and the air is warmer. It makes more evaporation, thus more clouds, thus more storms.

So this area of low pressure could eventually slide northward enough near the southeast of the U.S. and get captured by the subtropical jet stream and bring all of that moisture across the southern tier of the country. Therefore, areas from San Diego to Texas to Louisiana and Florida could ultimately see a wetter summer season, whereas the opposite is true in the northern tier of the country.

It's dry and warm, so this type of pattern doesn't only affect conditions in this part of the world. It actually is global. We talked about the Pacific Ocean being one of the areas affected, where it's warmer and stormier because the winds could change direction. But what about the Atlantic Ocean?

The Atlantic Ocean in the summer creates a lot of hurricanes from year to year. Well, in an El Niño summer, these winds are actually so fast it rips apart storms. I want you to think of it this way - winds at the top of the sky are moving way faster. That's where clouds build. It actually takes that tall cloud and tips it over, preventing strong storms from forming.

One of the impacts of a summer El Niño is that we have fewer Atlantic hurricanes. The chances of storm development are actually way lower in an El Niño's summer. However, flooding rain and stormy conditions over the southern tier of the U.S. Unusual weather typically, so that flooding is a problem.

From California to Texas to Florida for our area here in the Tri-State, we really don't see any specific impact, but the biggest one is that fewer chance. That lower chance of an Atlantic hurricane. After all, we are coastal here in the Tri-State area now.

But remember, although the chances are low, it only takes one to make it a bad season, so don't let your guard down.