Ready for this again? (Photo by JustinSchuck)

By DCist contributor Rachel Kaufman.

El Niño—the more-or-less cyclical weather pattern of warm water in the Pacific—might become one of the most powerful on record, according to Capital Weather Gang’s Jason Samenow.

That means weather changes all over the world: 2015 will probably be the warmest year ever, and hurricanes in the Pacific will be stronger.

But it also means that hurricane season in the Atlantic will likely be quieter than normal and that this coming winter will be milder. Score.

The current El Nino is classified as “moderate” but could become “strong” by the end of the month. The last time we had an El Nino this strong was in 1997 and 1998, which was “notorious” for flash floods and mudslides in California, and caused $550 million in damages. But it also brought lots of rain to California, which could really use some right now. So, that’s cool?

There are some serious weather-nerd graphs and charts over at CWG, as usual.