A NASA climate scientist is warning a Godzilla-sized El Nino is coming, possibly one of the strongest in recorded history.
El Nino was blamed for California's extreme weather in 1997/98. San Francisco was drenched by its wettest winter in 120 years, and Los Angeles had a year's worth of rain in just one month.
Climatologist Bill Patzert says the El Nino signal in the ocean is stronger now than it was in 1997.
While the El Nino impact is usually smaller here because of the distance from the equator, meteorologist Georgina Griffiths says it could still cause major weather-related disruptions.
"It's important for farmers here in New Zealand to understand that this is a major El Nino that's living, right now, currently in existence in the tropical Pacific, just north of New Zealand," she says.
The impact varies widely. In 1998, it caused a drought in New Zealand.
"Think [of a] bathtub," Ms Griffiths says. "[With] abnormally hot water around the equator in the Pacific, it stuffs up all the wind and all the weather in the tropics and has really large implications for our Pacific neighbours."
Signs of the weather pattern have already showed here this winter, including a bumper season for skiers, a lot more frost and colder air temperatures since mid-June.
"If [the El Nino] continues to build it will have tremendous impact – not just over North America, but over the entire planet," Mr Patzert says.
Ms Griffiths says as El Nino intensifies towards the end of the year, New Zealand will experience a cold and stormy spring, followed by a dry summer for the east of the country.
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