U.S. forecasters say there's an 80 percent chance that El Niño will continue through 2015 in the Northern Hemisphere.
The sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific have risen above normal, creating the conditions that can bring record heat to some continents and more rain to others, like the U.S.
But, it won't end the drought in California, says meteorologist Michelle Mead with the National Weather Service in Sacramento.
"El Niño does not guarantee that we're going to see record-breaking rainfall or a drought-ending year,” she said. “It just means there is some potential to see some above-average precipitation.”
Mead says at this time last year, the early El Niño forecast was similar but didn't bring any relief to California.
She says El Niño is not a good predictor of rain and snow in Northern California.
This story was produced by Capital Public Radio.