Article: El Nino Could Be One of Strongest in Past 50 Years

Strong El Nino events are associated with a lot of weather changes, for example, increased rain to our West Coast. This is good news for them, as they are in the midst of an extended drought.

The bad news for the rest of us is that they are also correlated with warm global temperatures. The last time there was an El Nino this strong was 1998. That was the hottest year on record (unless the 1930's temperature data has been re-readjusted to show one of those years as the warmest).