- Understand ENSO Basics: El Niño and La Niña and How They Drive Weather
- Regional Weather Outcomes
- Resilience Toolkit Strengthens Homes, Properties, and Insurance Protection
- Personal Preparedness Ensures Safety, Gear Readiness, and Document Protection
- Power Resilience with Portable Solar Generators and Power Stations
- Frequently Asked Questions
- EcoFlow Solar Generators Provide Power, Safety, and Resilience During Extreme Weather
Weathering El Niño: Preparing for Extreme Weather & Preventing Power Outages
- Understand ENSO Basics: El Niño and La Niña and How They Drive Weather
- Regional Weather Outcomes
- Resilience Toolkit Strengthens Homes, Properties, and Insurance Protection
- Personal Preparedness Ensures Safety, Gear Readiness, and Document Protection
- Power Resilience with Portable Solar Generators and Power Stations
- Frequently Asked Questions
- EcoFlow Solar Generators Provide Power, Safety, and Resilience During Extreme Weather
The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), or simply “El Niño,” is a climate pattern that impacts weather worldwide every two to seven years. When it’s an El Niño year, the globe experiences extreme weather swings, from flooding to droughts and intense storms.
The 2024/2025 El Niño cycle has already had significant impacts across the US, and it’s about more than just the weather. The effects of such severe conditions spike power outages and damage infrastructure, emphasizing the importance of preparation to protect homes, families, and essential services.
Understand ENSO Basics: El Niño and La Niña and How They Drive Weather
ENSO is an oscillating ocean temperature pattern with two phases: El Niño and La Niña. El Niño brings warmer waters in the Pacific and alters jet stream patterns, while La Niña creates cooler Pacific waters and opposite weather effects.
These phases or cycles last about 9-12 months, but the timing is historically irregular, so it can be hard to predict. Thankfully, AI is improving weather forecasting using deep learning models, allowing us to prepare better.
The displacement of the ocean jet stream drives weather extremes, and the feedback loop between the ocean and the atmosphere only amplifies the weather further.
Regional Weather Outcomes
While overall weather can be unpredictable during ENSO phases, the regional weather patterns across continents are more predictable. For example, the rainfall vs. drought pattern during El Niño is the inverse of La Niña. You can use one weather pattern to understand what will happen regionally during the opposite phase.
West Coast Rainfall and Southwest Drought
Flooding risks also change during ENSO phases. Atmospheric rivers from El Niño can quickly dump 10+ inches of rain on the West Coast, leading to flooding. The California Central Valley has experienced extreme flooding, displacing communities and damaging infrastructure each time it happens. On the other hand, La Niña can bring prolonged droughts, elevating the risk of wildfire and extending the fire season by 2-3 months in the Southwest US.
Atlantic Activity and Hurricanes
Hurricane seasons are also largely driven by the current ENSO phase because it affects vertical wind shear, which describes the air's upward and downward motion at varying altitudes. El Niño conditions can decrease storm development in the Atlantic Ocean and create quieter hurricane seasons, while La Niña does the opposite, creating a favorable environment for storms to form.
EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 Portable Power Station
Resilience Toolkit Strengthens Homes, Properties, and Insurance Protection
Clean your gutters, storm drains, and downspouts before severe weather seasons.
Maintain your landscaping, removing dead trees or loose branches that could fall and damage your home or other structures.
Inspect your roof for loose shingles, potential leak points, or damaged flashing.
Use sandbags and other flood barriers around vulnerable entry points to your home.
Review your homeowners’ insurance, including coverage limits and flood policy exclusions.
Document the condition of your property and items with photos for insurance claims if necessary.
Secure outdoor equipment or furniture that could become projectiles in severe weather.
If preparing for emergencies in a city, ask your landlord to do the above.
Personal Preparedness Ensures Safety, Gear Readiness, and Document Protection
Create an emergency kit with a 3-day supply of non-perishable food and water per person. Each person needs at least one gallon of water per day.
Gather first aid supplies, medications, and personal hygiene items.
Invest in backup power like the EcoFlow RAPID Magnetic Power Bank (10,000mAh) to charge your phone for emergency communications.
Get a flashlight, extra batteries, and a hand-crank or battery-powered radio.
Place important documents and cash in waterproof and fireproof storage containers.
Create and safely store a list of emergency contacts.
Develop an evacuation plan for your family, including safe rooms, meeting locations outside the home, and multiple routes.
Power Resilience with Portable Solar Generators and Power Stations
Extreme weather accounts for the vast majority of power outages, so during an ENSO phase, you can expect to lose electricity at least a few times as storms, windows, and other conditions wreak havoc worldwide.
Portable power solutions allow you to carry essential loads even when grid power is lost, keeping things like refrigerators, medical devices, lighting, and communication up and running. While traditional fuel generators are one option, portable power stations like the EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 can provide the same benefit without the noise, fuel, or emissions. They’re invaluable during extended outages, as you can return to “normal” much faster than grid-dependent households.
Choosing the Right Portable Power Solution
When choosing a portable power station to withstand the dramatic ENSO phases, you must consider your capacity needs first. To do this, calculate the total wattage of your essential devices and multiply that by the amount of time you hope to run them with your PPS.
Then, consider the trade-offs between portability and power. More robust models are heavier and harder to bring with you if evacuating, for example. One way around this would be upgrading to the EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus Solar Generator (PV220W) or a comprehensive home solar system, which can provide continuous power when connected to solar panels while the sun is out. That way, you can get more out of a smaller model. Just remember that the capacity won’t change, so you may not be able to run everything at once.
Other features to look out for that can help you meet outage needs include fast charging, multiple output options, and durability against water, dust, etc.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it El Niño or La Niña in 2025?
The current ENSO phase in 2025 is El Niño, but transitioning into neutral conditions. However, La Niña may begin to develop toward the end of the year. This could increase hurricane activity in the Atlantic and bring a higher drought risk to the West Coast. Preparation should focus on typical La Niña weather patterns.
How to Prepare and Survive the Conditions of El Niño?
The best way to prepare is to regularly monitor weather updates and forecasts, stockpile essential supplies before the storm season peaks, and ensure you have reliable backup power ready to go. You should also practice evacuation and communication plans with your family and maintain your property to minimize structural damage.
EcoFlow Solar Generators Provide Power, Safety, and Resilience During Extreme Weather
ENSO-driven extreme weather is increasing in frequency and intensity, so while we’re in a transitional phase, it’s the perfect time to start preparing for the next cycle. Remember that these conditions often bring about power outages, so investing in backup power solutions like the EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3 is just as important as stockpiling supplies, creating an emergency evacuation plan, and hardening your home.