For centuries, South America fishers have noticed cyclical declines in the eastern Pacific fishery. Because these events seemed the most obvious around Christmas, when the birth of El Niño (the Christ child) is celebrated, the phenomenon itself took on the name El Niño.

For gardeners in the United States, El Niño usually means increased rainfall across the southern tier, from Southern California to the east coast. At the same time, rain and snowfall decrease in the Pacific Northwest, and temperatures rise a bit above normal (not great news for this winter's Olympics in Vancouver, BC). All this is what we’re experiencing now, as El Niño strengthens.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that the current El Niño pattern will hold through winter and perhaps start to break up in spring. But like much else about the weather, nobody knows for sure. What is clear, however, is that the Southwest's drought is starting to moderate, and that's good news.