The El Niño Briefing
The 2026–27 El Niño will run for roughly a year, and most of that year will not make headlines. The numbers will creep, forecasts will shift a few points at a time, and the moments that matter — a coupling confirmed, an outlook revised, a harvest verdict — will arrive quietly, mid-week, in data files most people never open.
That's the gap the Briefing fills. One email a week, written for people who need to stay ahead of this event without making it their job.
What's inside, every week
- The numbers that moved. The weekly Niño 3.4 reading and the SOI, with one plain sentence on what changed and whether it matters — the same data as the live dashboard, minus the checking.
- Forecast watch. What shifted in the official outlooks and model runs, and how it changes the odds for the winter peak. After each monthly outlook, a longer read — the same analyses published on the forecast page.
- One impact story, explained. Each week we take one region or market — California reservoirs, cocoa's harmattan, the Mekong's salt line — and explain what the event means for it in three paragraphs.
- What to watch next week. The single indicator worth your attention, so you're never surprised.
Who it's for
Farmers and commodity watchers planning around a drying or drenching season. Journalists who need the story before it's a story. Emergency planners and risk professionals with a season to prepare for. Students and the professionally curious. If you can read a weather app, you can read the Briefing — every term links to the glossary, and every claim traces to the sources on our data page.
The fine print
Free while the 2026–27 event runs. One email a week — occasionally a second when something genuinely urgent happens, which we expect to be rare. No spam, no list sales, unsubscribe in one click; the details live in our privacy policy.
Sign up with the form below — the next issue lands this week.