{"id":2031,"date":"2026-06-17T23:07:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T23:07:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2031"},"modified":"2026-06-17T23:07:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T23:07:42","slug":"el-nino-gets-hold-of-the-southwest-mountain-west","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2031","title":{"rendered":"El Ni\u00f1o gets hold of the Southwest, Mountain West"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

From oceanographer Joellen Russell\u2019s perspective, the El Ni\u00f1o is already here. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just waiting for them to call it,\u201d she told the Deseret News over the phone about the change in weather pattern affecting the western U.S. <\/p>\n

Read more The Osmonds announced a concert venue in Provo Canyon. Will it actually happen?<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt has more than a 61% chance of developing. But when I look at the sea surface temperatures in the Pacific, right on the equator, it looks like it\u2019s here to me.\u201d <\/p>\n

This global change in weather patterns is characterized by warming of ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, which brings heavier rainfall and warmer temperatures to the U.S. West Coast and beyond. <\/p>\n

According to Russell, El Ni\u00f1o will have a wide-ranging impact on the Mountain West, with the Southwest attracting an active monsoon season while Utah and Colorado are on track to receive heavy snowstorms later in the year. But the climate scientist warned that summer temperatures will remain hot whether or not it rains. <\/p>\n

During the phone conversation, Russell pondered a bigger question: With the incoming El Ni\u00f1o, as the ocean is giving up water into the West, will states work together to make the best of this windfall?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a horse race in the atmosphere-ocean system right now,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

El Ni\u00f1o 101 <\/h3>\n

El Ni\u00f1o, which is Spanish for \u2018Little Boy,\u2019 arrives every three to seven years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think this is going to be the all-time largest El Ni\u00f1o on record because it started so early,\u201d said Russell. <\/p>\n

She is an expert on weather models and changing climates, and serves as a geoscience professor and the integrative science chair at the University of Arizona. <\/p>\n

Generally, during a big El Ni\u00f1o, the Pacific jet streams, which act as a highway for storms, push into California and across the Western U.S., explained Russell. <\/p>\n

With the hot summer here, Russell said she is worried about crops and livestock, especially since summer monsoons are \u201ctwitchy\u201d and harder to forecast due to the ever-changing local weather. <\/p>\n

The summer monsoon can reduce the risk of wildfires, but if the Southwest U.S. garners thunderstorms and little rain, the dangers of fires started by lightning would increase.<\/p>\n

Despite these challenges, Russell is hopeful this year will bring an opportunity to replenish snowpacks and recharge reservoirs. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all going to be a little cabin feverish in the heat this summer,\u201d Russell said. \u201cOn the other hand, it may actually really help with the Colorado River because with the El Ni\u00f1o, I expect a bigger dump of snow next winter, and I\u2019m hoping that our storm season starts earlier this fall.\u201d <\/p>\n

Read more Prosecutors oppose effort to make Tyler Robinson roommate appear at prelim<\/a><\/p>\n

El Ni\u00f1o and the Colorado Water deal<\/h3>\n

The ocean is significantly warmer in comparison to three decades ago, said Russell. That\u2019s because it is absorbing over 90% of the excess heat from climate change.<\/p>\n

She added, it\u2019s \u201ca good thing because it keeps it from getting even hotter,\u201d but this does lead to sea-level rise and the disruption of marine ecosystems.<\/p>\n

But when this ocean heat meets the arid climate of the Western U.S., it extracts moisture from the landscape, including two crucial reservoirs \u2014 Lake Mead and Lake Powell. <\/p>\n

As the Deseret News reported, these reservoirs that once stored four years of river flows are now more than two-thirds empty as the persistent drought doesn\u2019t let up. <\/p>\n

Currently, Colorado River states are in the midst of negotiations over who should pay for the excess evaporation: the upper basin or the lower basin. <\/p>\n

But the Upper Basin states (Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming), and Lower Basin states (Arizona, California and Nevada) haven\u2019t been able to come to a decision. <\/p>\n

These negotiations will impact the more than 40 million people who depend on the Colorado River. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all worried about the cost of electricity and water, and whether or not we have enough for our farms and our cattle,\u201d said Russell. \u201cWe are using less water today in Tucson than we did in 1990,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

She argued rising temperatures, which are eating into the water supply, can\u2019t be ignored. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere aren\u2019t only two of us in the room anymore. There are three: The third is evaporation, and it\u2019s stealing (water), which means it\u2019s not Colorado and Utah that are fighting with Arizona and California,\u201d Russell said. It\u2019s the states against the changing weather. <\/p>\n

Whatever solution the upper and lower basins come up with must address this third party, Russell added. <\/p>\n

Read more Mike Lee\u2019s stalled election bill divides Republicans who privately believe there\u2019s no path forward<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

But will the rare atmospheric phenomenon give the West a much-needed chance to replenish water reservoirs? What is El Ni\u00f1o?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nEl Ni\u00f1o gets hold of the Southwest, Mountain West - American Movers Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2031\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"El Ni\u00f1o gets hold of the Southwest, Mountain West - American Movers Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"But will the rare atmospheric phenomenon give the West a much-needed chance to replenish water reservoirs? What is El Ni\u00f1o?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2031\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Movers Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-17T23:07:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=2031#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=2031\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b68c8483906c0d2987f271455f0177af\"},\"headline\":\"El Ni\u00f1o gets hold of the Southwest, Mountain West\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T23:07:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=2031\"},\"wordCount\":806,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=2031#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/27600391a118646a1e391bcbe6e4eaac.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=2031#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=2031\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=2031\",\"name\":\"El Ni\u00f1o gets hold of the Southwest, Mountain West - American Movers Hub\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=2031#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=2031#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/27600391a118646a1e391bcbe6e4eaac.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T23:07:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b68c8483906c0d2987f271455f0177af\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=2031#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=2031\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=2031#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/27600391a118646a1e391bcbe6e4eaac.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/27600391a118646a1e391bcbe6e4eaac.avif\",\"width\":630,\"height\":331},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?p=2031#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"El Ni\u00f1o gets hold of the Southwest, Mountain West\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"American Movers Hub\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b68c8483906c0d2987f271455f0177af\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanmovershub.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"El Ni\u00f1o gets hold of the Southwest, Mountain West - American Movers Hub","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2031","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"El Ni\u00f1o gets hold of the Southwest, Mountain West - American Movers Hub","og_description":"But will the rare atmospheric phenomenon give the West a much-needed chance to replenish water reservoirs? What is El Ni\u00f1o?","og_url":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2031","og_site_name":"American Movers Hub","article_published_time":"2026-06-17T23:07:42+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2031#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2031"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b68c8483906c0d2987f271455f0177af"},"headline":"El Ni\u00f1o gets hold of the Southwest, Mountain West","datePublished":"2026-06-17T23:07:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2031"},"wordCount":806,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2031#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/27600391a118646a1e391bcbe6e4eaac.avif","articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2031#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2031","url":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2031","name":"El Ni\u00f1o gets hold of the Southwest, Mountain West - American Movers Hub","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2031#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2031#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/27600391a118646a1e391bcbe6e4eaac.avif","datePublished":"2026-06-17T23:07:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b68c8483906c0d2987f271455f0177af"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2031#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2031"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2031#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/27600391a118646a1e391bcbe6e4eaac.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/27600391a118646a1e391bcbe6e4eaac.avif","width":630,"height":331},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2031#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"El Ni\u00f1o gets hold of the Southwest, Mountain West"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/","name":"American Movers Hub","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b68c8483906c0d2987f271455f0177af","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/americanmovershub.com"],"url":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}