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Feds Upgrade El Niño To Strong, But Not As Big As 1997-98

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — Federal forecasters upgraded this year's El Niño to an unusual strong status, but said it's probably not a record breaker or drought buster.

Mike Halpert, deputy director of the federal Climate Prediction Center, said the current worldwide weather shifting event doesn't match the monster El Niño of 1997-1998, nor is it likely to.

With even warmer waters in the central Pacific in August, the hottest in more than 17 years, the prediction center moved the El Niño up from moderate status. So far the El Niño is the third strongest on record, behind 1997-98 and a weird one in 1987-88 that peaked early.

Bill Patzert, a climatologist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, told KNX 1070's Margaret Carrero the muggy weather and wild storms we've experienced recently show El Niño is already here, but it remains to be seen what it will bring as we close out the year.

"Be patient, because each of these episodes is slightly different," said Patzert.

Meteorologists said strong El Niño usually dump heavy rains on Southern California, but its four-year water deficit is too big to be erased in one wet winter.

According to Patzert, forecasters don't think this current system will ease the state's drought woes in a significant way.

"Winter rains and especially snowpack would be a great down payment, but this is no drought-buster," he said.

Meanwhile, local experts are looking at whether infrastructure can handle downpours we haven't seen in some time.

Bob Spencer, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, says the drought has provided plenty of time to prepare for heavy rainfall and as long as the rain is long and steady, he doesn't foresee problems.

"What causes us increased challenges is when it's a tropical sort of downpour that dumps a lot of moisture in a very short space of time," Spencer said.

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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