"Godzilla El Niño" Coming?

Above, the Godzilla slide in Yokosuka, Japan. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

With Legendary Pictures' Godzilla 2 not due in theaters until 2018, Toho's own production is set to go into production in a few weeks for a 2016 release.

2016, as it seems to be turning out, will be a Godzilla year in another way as something else is lurking in the waters of the Pacific Ocean.

According to the Los Angeles Times:

The strengthening El Niño in the Pacific Ocean has the potential to become one of the most powerful on record, as warming ocean waters surge toward the Americas, setting up a pattern that could bring once-in-a-generation storms this winter to drought-parched California. 

The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center said Thursday that all computer models are predicting a strong El Niño to peak in the late fall or early winter. A host of observations have led scientists to conclude that “collectively, these atmospheric and oceanic features reflect a significant and strengthening El Niño.” 

“This definitely has the potential of being the Godzilla El Niño,” said Bill Patzert, a climatologist with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge.

If we do have "a Godzilla El Niño", should we call it the "King of the El Niños"? God knows we in California can use it to eliminate the effects of the current drought. If it does come to pass, we should have a great river-rafting season next year!

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