El Niño finally in the bag?

The news that we have been expecting (and in many regions, hoping for) is in: El Niño has officially arrived, according to the National Weather Service, and is expected to remain strong through the Northern Hemisphere winter of 2015 to 2016, tapering off only in late spring or early summer of 2016.

This means that:

- There is an increased likelihood of increased precipitation across the southern tier of the United States - Lower precipitation over the northern tier of…