El Niño will bring another wet winter, experts predict

■ By ROBERT BURNS

Texas A&M University

A super-strong El Niño now brewing in the tropical Pacific will likely bring another rain-drenched winter to large parts of Texas, said Dr. John Nielsen- Gammon, state climatologist, College Station. But the climate scientist said he doesn’t expect a repeat of the 2015 wet spring will necessarily follow. The El Niño of 2014-2015 was only moderately strong, but the rain it brought, followed by a very wet spring, effectively ended the Texas drought. Meanwhile, the 2015-2016 El Niño is shaping up to be a record breaker, said Nielsen- Gammon, who is also a Regents Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at Texas A&M University.