1998 was the hottest year on record because of an very powerful el Niño that seriously heated up the whole planet. During that time, according to The Times, that winter “torrential rains pulverized California, heatwaves swept across Australia and Brazil, forest fires blanketed Indonesia, eastern Africa was flooded while southern Africa withered under drought, and floods and storms caused billions of dollars’ damage to crops and buildings.”

According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists, El Niño conditions are emerging in the Pacific and are expected to last through the 2009-10 winter.

But it’s not necessarily all bad news. According to the NOAA, “El Niño’s impacts depend on a variety of factors, such as intensity and extent of ocean warming, and the time of year. Contrary to popular belief, not all effects are negative. On the positive side, El Niño can help to suppress Atlantic hurricane activity. In the United States, it typically brings beneficial winter precipitation to the arid Southwest, less wintry weather across the North, and a reduced risk of Florida wildfires.”