A strong El Niño, which started in June, has led to record-breaking heat and a quiet hurricane season.
But as winter approaches, the "super" El Niño could develop into the strongest ever recorded, even though it is still in the early stages and currently considered moderate.
Stephen Shiveley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Ruskin, explained an El Niño occurs when the Pacific Ocean water temperature is warm, raising the question: "Why would temperatures all the way over there affect us here in the United States?"
But the El Niño doesn't cause specific conditions — it's a factor that causes the weather to act a little bit differently during the winter, Chief Meteorologist Mike Clay with Spectrum Bay News 9 explained.
"Areas that don't normally get rain will get rain," Clay said. "Areas that normally get rain will be in a drought."
Meteorologist Andrew Wulfeck with the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network (FPREN) said he has never seen an El Niño forecast this strong. He predicts Florida will see severe weather throughout the winter.
"We're trading out the dry conditions for more wet conditions, stormier conditions, likely when we turn the calendar year," Wulfeck said.
The risk for tornadoes is also higher during an El Niño year, as Central and South Florida usually see twice as many tornadoes.
"Every significant tornado that's ever hit the peninsula of Florida has been during an El Niño," Clay said.
One of the strongest ever created the deadliest tornado outbreak in Central Florida, killing 42 people in 1998, according to the National Weather Service.
The El Niño in December 1997 led to 14 inches of rain in Tampa, Clay pointed out.
But increased storms may not be entirely negative. Florida has been experiencing a severe drought since late last year.
The Southwest Florida Water Management District recorded below average rainfall for the normally wet months of June, July, August and September across the 16 counties they cover — including Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota and Manatee.
Susanna Martinez Tarokh with the District said such additional winter rainfall would be a relief to the ongoing dry conditions.
"Given consistent, below-average rainfall, we need consistent above-average rainfall to relieve the long-term deficit," Tarokh said.
Current water restrictions are set to expire on Oct. 1. The District's Governing Board will meet Tuesday at 3 p.m. in Tampa. Tarokh said they will discuss El Niño, but she is unsure whether the Board will use that information to extend that expiration date.
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