Friday, Aug. 21, 2009 | 6:16 p.m.
The National Weather Service announced this week that a weak El Nino, meaning warmer Pacific Ocean waters, has arrived and should continue through the winter months.
El Nino events occur, on average, every three to five years as the central and eastern Pacific waters warm near the equator.
An El Nino can last months to more than a year and the warmer Pacific waters affect weather patterns around the world.
The current El Nino is considered weak, but it is expected to strengthen this winter. An El Nino advisory has been issued by the Climate Prediction Center, the weather service said.
This particular El Nino has the potential to be a moderate event. If this is the case, below-normal seasonal snowfall is predicted for the desert valleys in Southern California, Southern Nevada and northwestern Arizona.
However, normal winter weather patterns are expected for Kingman, Ariz.
Tropical storms and their remnants impact the southwestern states during an El Nino, such as the September 1997 Hurricane Nora, which drenched Southern Nevada.
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