California braces for 'super' El Niño. Here's how to prepare

With California virtually certain to see a “super” El Niño, residents and business owners are being asked to brace for a wet and potentially punishing winter later this year. But the time for preparation is now. Officials across Southern California are busy working to shore up hillsides and get flood control systems in place before the rains arrive. Forecasters say there’s a 75% chance this latest El Niño — a climate pattern characterized by warmer ocean waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific — will be stronger than any other since 1950. There is a 98% chance that El Niño will be “very strong” for the three-month period ending in December, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center. The pattern could train a stream of potent tropical moisture on Southern California, drenching the region, weather experts have said.