El Niño forms in Pacific as experts say it will likely turbocharge extreme weather

El Niño has officially begun and forecasters give it a 63% chance of becoming a Super El Niño.

This announcement by NOAA is not a surprise as forecasters have expected this warming phase since the cooler "sister" pattern, La Niña, faded at the end of last year.

The phenomenon is predicted to rival or even surpass the record-setting El Nino of 1997, which caused billions in damages through heatwaves, floods, droughts, tornadoes, and wildfires.

The El Nino is a phenomenon that occurs naturally, when weakening trade winds cause ​warmer ocean waters to build up in the central and ​eastern equatorial Pacific.