El Niño for winter 2009 is confirmed

It's official, according to the Climate Prediction Center of the National Weather Service. El Niño conditions have been confirmed in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, and the forecast is for a moderate to strong El Niño that is expected to last in the Northern Hemisphere during the winter of 2009—2010.

El Niños occur when water temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean are above average (0.5 to 1.5 C above average), as they have been for the past several weeks. This in…