El Nio appears to be on his way out.
The historically strong El Nio event that has brought so much rain and flooding to the area is weakening rapidly and should transition to La Nia conditions by late summer or early fall.
El Nio is a periodic warming of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. About every two to seven years, this patch of ocean warms for six to 18 months. La Nia, by contrast, is characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific.
"The big question is whether El Nio is going to hold out or if it is going to end. Right now, most indicators are showing we are moving out of El Nio and could be in a La Nia pattern by fall. The pendulum swings back and forth," said Mario Valverde, meteorologist in charge with the National Weather Service in Shreveport, La.
Meteorologists expect a neutral weather pattern in between El Nio and La Nia.
La Nia means warmer, dryer weather for the Texarkana area. Typically, La Nia summers feature hotter temperatures in the central U.S., with the hottest month being July.
As summer turns to fall this year, meteorologists expect to see the developing La Nia to continue to strengthen, becoming the dominant driver of North American weather patterns in the second half of the year, according to NWS. This will affect the hurricane season, which peaks in mid-September, as well as temperatures across North America.
"In general, we expect the warm pattern from the summer to persist into the fall. This should mean above-normal temperatures will be widespread well past Labor Day," Valverde said. "El Nio suppresses hurricanes, so the ending of El Nio could result in a normal or above-normal hurricane season," he said.
So far in 2016, Texarkana temperatures have not reached 90 degrees. The highest temperature so far has been 89.
But the hot days will be here soon enough.
"We are moving into summertime, and 90-degree days are normal for us. Everyone should take precautions to beat the heat," Valverde said.
Rain and thunderstorms are expected for the rest of this month and the first few days of June.