Climate scientists predict this year’s “super” El Niño, a label assigned when sea surface temperatures climb by at least 2C, will be the strongest of the century. In more recent history, during the El Niño winter of 2015-16, state officials reported record coastal erosion on California beaches. El Niño is not expected to completely erase drought in the US south-west, where some reservoirs are at an all-time low. In a 1998 El Niño winter, an outbreak of unusually strong tornadoes in that region led to 42 deaths and more than $100m in damage. Experts warn that not every El Niño behaves the same, nor does it affect different geographical regions in the same way.