The current El Niño has been described with a variety of dramatic labels, ranging from “monster” and “mega” to “mind-blowing” and “flamethrower.” As sea surface temperatures rise and tropical systems develop in the eastern Pacific, the public and media are searching for ways to characterize what is expected to be a climate powerhouse reaching unprecedented strength later in 2026.
Despite the colorful terminology, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) maintains a formal classification system. Based on three-month averages, the agency categorizes El Niño events as weak, moderate, strong, or “very strong.” Scientists have consistently pointed to “very strong” as the only appropriate technical designation, though many acknowledge that the term lacks the immediate impact of labels like “Cat 5 hurricane” or “EF-5 tornado.”
The desire to name and categorize extreme weather is a natural human response, according to Adam Rainear, an associate professor of communication and media at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. He notes that naming events helps the public understand and compare them, much like the “Godzilla” moniker that became widely associated with the intense 2015-2016 El Niño and eventually appeared in scientific literature.
As the summer progresses, some experts have become more comfortable with the “super” label. Emily Becker, a research professor at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School, suggested that if the event meets or exceeds the peaks of previous years, new language might be necessary to differentiate it. Similarly, climate scientist Michael Mann, director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability & the Media at the University of Pennsylvania, noted that while he was initially hesitant, the event’s materialization makes the term fair, as it appears poised to be the largest on record.
However, not all experts agree on the need for a new category. Michael McPhaden, a recently retired NOAA senior scientist with over 40 years of experience studying the phenomenon, argues that a new classification is unnecessary. He points out that there have been three extreme events in the past 50 years—1982-83, 1997-98, and 2015-16—and the 2026-27 event is expected to rival or exceed those in magnitude.
McPhaden highlighted the rarity of such a sequence, noting that if the current projections hold, the world will have experienced three major El Niños within a single decade, a frequency not seen in the 150-year historical instrumental record. Rainear added that because these extreme events are so rare, there are few historical comparisons available to help the public gauge the severity of the current situation.
Ultimately, experts emphasize that the specific name of an event is less critical than public risk perception. NOAA prioritizes impact-based messaging, similar to how the National Hurricane Center encourages people to focus on potential consequences rather than just a storm’s category. The agency works closely with sociologists to refine its communication strategies, including the recent updates to its forecast cone graphics, to ensure the public understands the risks associated with specific weather events. The report also notes that the current El Niño has been casually called a “monster” and a “flamethrower,” but officials have given it a less alarming-sounding designation. The report also notes that sea surface temperatures skyrocketing and one tropical system after another in the eastern Pacific, signs of a potentially historic El Niño seem to be popping up all over, with sharks on the move. The report also notes that inspiring a flurry of colorful, descriptive terms across social media posts, blogs and even news stories, this climate powerhouse is expected to reach unprecedented strength later in 2026. The report also notes that grasping for a catchy description seems only natural. The report also notes that we’ve debated naming winter storms. The report also notes that as people struggled to compare it to the very strong El Niño in 1997-1998, the intense 2015-2016 El Niño was widely dubbed Godzilla.
