If early numbers are any indication, Los Angeles is on the verge of the second-strongest El Niño to hit the region in nearly 40 years.
Earlier this month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's climate-watch team said the change in equatorial Pacific Ocean temperatures -- the key variant in predicting El Niños -- is second in strength only to the 1997-1998 El Niño, which caused $550 million damage and 17 deaths in the state.