El Niño conditions — the warming of ocean waters off South America that can alter weather across the globe, including California’s summer temperatures and the amount of rain it might receive next winter — are emerging in the Pacific Ocean for the first time in 4 years. While El Niños do not automatically guarantee wet weather for California, historically, the stronger they are, the more likely it is that the state will have a rainy winter season. And after the dramatic series of storms this past winter that ended the drought and filled nearly empty reservoirs, another one back-to-back could increase flood risks.

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• Phys.org: Study shows warming planet is leading to an increase in ‘atmospheric river’-associated flooding in India
• ABC News: Major, record-breaking heat wave moves into West Coast
• Hanford Sentinel: Hanford expecting high of 99 degrees Sunday, Kings County under flood warning
• Washington Post: Analysis - Multibillion-Dollar Natural Disasters Are the New Normal
• Capital Press: Forecasters - Strong El Nino may be on the horizon
• San Francisco Chronicle: Heat wave could bring 90-degree temperatures to some Bay Area cities. Here’s timeline of impacts