If you thought this past winter was warm and dry, wait until El Niño comes to town.

Should the famed warm weather generator’s trajectory hold, next winter could see even warmer and drier conditions in the Pacific Northwest, experts say.

There is about a 61% chance that El Niño will emerge in the region between May and July and last through at least the end of the year, according to a forecast earlier this month from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center.

The center said there is a 25% chance we get a “very strong El Niño” this winter. That could mean significantly less snowfall and snowpack for Washington, University of Washington researcher Aaron Levine said, exacerbating drought conditions the following summer along with raising wildfire risk.

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