One thing to note is that temperatures tend to be moderated during strong El Nino winters, owing to the Pacific-dominated flow. On average, strong El Nino winters have less very warm days (highs of 70 F or greater) as well as less very cold days (highs of 32 F or colder) when compared to the long- term normals.

An El Niño event in 2026 does not necessarily mean a "bad" winter, but it does mean a highly different one compared to average years. El Niño is the warming of surface waters in the eastern Pacific, which typically shifts the jet stream further south across the United States and Europe. For the Southern U.S., this usually results in a wetter and cooler winter than normal, which can mean more storms but also more rain rather than snow. For the Northern U.S. and Canada, El Niño often brings a "milder" and drier winter, potentially leading to lower heating bills but a poor season for ski resorts. In Europe, the impacts are less direct but often correlate with colder, drier winters in the north and wetter conditions in the Mediterranean. Essentially, El Niño creates "winners and losers" in terms of weather; it isn't "bad" across the board, but it disrupts the predictable seasonal patterns that residents and farmers rely on.