{"id":5829,"date":"2026-09-02T16:48:35","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T21:48:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/?p=5829"},"modified":"2026-09-02T16:48:40","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T21:48:40","slug":"how-does-an-el-nino-effect-winter-georgia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/how-does-an-el-nino-effect-winter-georgia\/","title":{"rendered":"How Does an El Ni\u00f1o Effect Winter in Georgia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Super El Ni\u00f1o Winter is Coming<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"201\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Georgia-winter-floods-201x300.jpg\" alt=\"Georgia could see a cooler, wetter winter this season but a Super El Ni\u00f1o could also make it more volatile and extreme.\" class=\"wp-image-5841\" title=\"Super El Ni\u00f1o Winter is Coming\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Georgia-winter-floods-201x300.jpg 201w, https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Georgia-winter-floods-230x343.jpg 230w, https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Georgia-winter-floods-350x521.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Georgia-winter-floods-480x715.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Georgia-winter-floods.jpg 484w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 201px) 100vw, 201px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><center><em>With a Super El Ni\u00f1o on the way, winter in Georgia could see extreme weather like storms and floods.<\/em><\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After a summer with record breaking heat, what kind of winter are we in for in Georgia? All signs point to an El Ni\u00f1o winter. But not just any El Ni\u00f1o, a <em>Super<\/em> El Ni\u00f1o. That might sound scary, but it simply means the type of weather patterns we are likely to see during an El Ni\u00f1o winter are even more likely to occur this year. And, of course, the weather we get in Georgia and across the US also has a big impact on our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/natural-gas-rates\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">natural gas prices<\/a>. So, how does an El Ni\u00f1o effect winter in Georgia? Let\u2019s find out!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How El Ni\u00f1o Effects Winter in Georgia<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Typically, an El Ni\u00f1o winter means cooler, wetter weather for us in Georgia. The effects may be stronger for those further south like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/natural-gas-rates\/georgia\/savannah\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Savannah<\/a>. The weather shift occurs when warmer surface ocean temperatures warm the atmosphere. This shifts the jet stream across the US further south. Right now, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/08\/20\/weather\/super-el-nino-us-winter-forecast-climate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NOAA<\/a> predicts a 33% chance we\u2019ll actually be <em>warmer<\/em> than usual through winter. But, 33%-60% we\u2019ll be wetter than normal moving through the state from northwest to southeast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">El Ni\u00f1o&#8217;s Severe Winter Weather for Georgia<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During El Ni\u00f1o, we could also be in for some severe weather. During the last super El Ni\u00f1o in 2016-17, the southeast US had almost 100 tornadoes touch down. Georgia specifically experienced record warmth and significant flooding. In the 80s, a super El Ni\u00f1o gifted us with a decent amount of snow including a record 10 inches in March for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/natural-gas-rates\/georgia\/atlanta\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Atlanta<\/a>. Depending on how the super El Ni\u00f1o affects the polar vortex, it\u2019s not out of the question for us to get severe ice storms as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">El Ni\u00f1o Weather and Natural Gas Prices<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Weather has a huge impact on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/companies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">natural gas suppliers<\/a> and rates. So, what should we be on the lookout for this year? Cold snaps, not just in Georgia, but throughout the US, can drive prices up sharply. This doesn\u2019t usually last long, but if it catches you at the wrong time, it can be costly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the other hand, a generally warmer winter across the US is likely to push our storage numbers up. This helps keep your rates and natural gas bills on the lower side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Natural gas exports are still an unknown variable in the mix. We are exporting more already, and winter demand may drive exports even higher. If this drives overall storage numbers down, we\u2019ll be less able to absorb big hits to supply from extreme weather events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Right now, it\u2019s hard to predict if winter natural gas rates will be volatile or stable. But with fall settling in, it\u2019s a great time to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/deals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">compare natural gas<\/a> plans before the winter. Check out the best natural gas rates today at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Super El Ni\u00f1o Winter is Coming After a summer with record breaking [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":5842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mbp_gutenberg_autopost":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[161],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-compare-natural-gas-rates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5829"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5846,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5829\/revisions\/5846"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgiagassavings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}