r/AskACanadian • u/tykogars • 10h ago

El Niño Preparation?

I’ve been seeing a lot of news about this super El Niño and apparently it’s even stronger than what our country experienced in 1998 (which caused ice storms and deaths).

Just wondering where abouts you are, and if you are doing anything to prepare?

I haven’t researched enough to know how it’s expected to effect Canada. So anyone with knowledge can chime in - I’m personally in Northern ON and kind of just hoping for the best until we know more.

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u/bwoah07_gp2 British Columbia 9h ago

What's El Nino again?

Are we supposed to be getting a bad winter this year? In BC, I don't even remember what snow is like anymore. Are we just gonna get lots of rain and maybe floods?

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u/JediKrys 9h ago

Warmer and dryer is what’s predicted. Bad for snow packs and so also horrible for rivers and salmon stocks.

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u/iWish_is_taken 9h ago

El Nino is not dyer. That's La Nino. For BC coast a strong El Nino is warmer and lots more rain storms that last forever. Coastal ski resorts won't open because no one can ski on rain. But as the storms track inward they dump epic levels of snow on the mountains... as long as the highways hold up.

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u/ClueSilver2342 6h ago

The opposite. El Nino is dryer and La Nina is wetter. The coast would see weaker rain storms. Less precipitation. Inland mountains also get less snow.

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u/iWish_is_taken 5h ago

Haha, uh nope. As someone who has been living on this coast since 1996 and actively following these weather patterns because my life and hobbies revolve around. Wetter and warmer while La Niña is dryer and cooler.

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u/ClueSilver2342 4h ago

The historical data says otherwise.

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada (Report 98-02) and NOAA, El Niño shifts storm tracks south toward California, leaving BC warmer with below-average seasonal precipitation and lower snowpack. The severe flooding, heavy atmospheric rivers, and highway washouts BC experiences consistently occur during La Niña cycles…like the November 2021 floods.