The Water
El Niño hit a record. A September nor’easter is next.
Pacific surface temperature, Saturday, highest on the books. The Post: major U.S. winter impacts. East Coast rain this week.
The Rocket News · Science and Tech · WashingtonSeptember 21, 2026 · 4 min read
The Post’s Monday briefing: the ongoing El Niño has officially reached record levels. Saturday, sea-surface temperature in part of the Pacific hit its highest peak on the record. The anomaly is shifting weather. Major U.S. winter impacts are forecast. The Science desk files the water, not the metaphor.
Later this week a rare September nor’easter is expected to intensify off the Mid-Atlantic, with rain, wind, and rough seas for millions on the East Coast. Fall begins Tuesday. The ocean did not wait.
The anomaly is shifting weather patterns.
The Science desk files Monday as it is: a record in the Pacific, a storm with a New England name in September, and winter already in the models.
Wire and further reading: washingtonpost.com
Filed under Science
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