http://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/extreme-el-nino-drought-stricken-california-crosshairs-wild-weather-n460796
After four years of a historic drought that has ravaged virtually every corner of California, this winter could usher in a new challenge: A series of storms with rains so heavy and so punishing that mudslides and flooding would be the norm, forecasters warn.
That's because of an El Niño weather phenomenon that will target California — perhaps in ways that haven't been documented for decades, said Bill Patzert, a climatologist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
"This is larger, it's more intense, and it's still growing," Patzert told NBC News' Al Roker.
Related: In California, Ski Resorts Celebrate Early Storm, Pray to El Niño
The El Niño weather pattern creates an occasional warming of the Pacific Ocean around the equator, and when it occurs, it typically brings more winter rain to California and much of the South and East.
El Niño is causing temperatures in the normally cold Pacific to rise about three degrees higher, and the subtropical jet stream, which typically moves south of California, to shift farther north.
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