<![CDATA[
<BODY>
<P>
<B>CALIFORNIA:</B> Closest thing to "ground zero" for the U.S.; heavy rains, with coastal landslides and crop damage predicted. Winter-grown produce like celery (a big crop in coastal Southern California) could take a huge hit. Predictions: more storms, cleaner air in Los Angeles; fewer forest fires next year. In early October, water temperatures already were up dramatically. Temperature-sensitive fish species are migrating as El Nino shifts water currents, moving their food sources to unusual locations. In the past this has caused an upsurge in deaths of pelicans and other seabirds and of marine mammals, including sea lions, which starve after their food sources move. Huge numbers of beached seals and sea lions are expected in early 1998. In the 1982-83 event, marine mammal strandings increased nearly five-fold. California sustained more than half of the nearly $2 billion in U.S. property damage during the 1982-83 event.
</P>
<P>
<B>NORTHWEST U.S.:</B> Winter weather predicted to be generally warmer and drier. A focal point here is the salmon fishery, which already is reeling from a huge crash in the salmon population due to overfishing and loss of spawning stream habitat. Ocean current and temperature changes could change feeding and migratory patterns; a dry winter with less snow will drain spawning streams next spring and summer. A drier winter could make for a heavier forest fire season in the Northern Rockies, the Cascades, and the Northern Sierras; Northern Rockies ski operators may have a poor snow year.
</P>
<P>
<B>ALASKA:</B> Milder winter along the southern coast, but not much impact up north. Alaska fishermen could suffer if salmon move to parts unknown.
</P>
<P>
<B>DESERT SOUTHWEST:</B> September's Hurricane Nora didn't hit much of Arizona as hard as expected, but some areas received their annual average rainfall total in a single day. There's disagreement over whether El Nino produces more Pacific hurricanes, but general agreement that El Nino intensifies storms and enables them to reach dry places like Arizona.
</P>
<P>
<B>ROCKIES:</B> Warmer and wetter conditions forecast, which for Colorado ski operators could mean more snow. If so, the snowmelt here next spring will put more water into the Colorado and Rio Grande Rivers, affecting life from San Diego to Brownsville, Texas.
</P>
<P>
<B>TEXAS/OKLAHOMA:</B> Possibly wetter winter all across the southern U.S., but there are some mixed signals here. There's some conjecture that the absence of El Nino for most of the 1930s helped create the drought-stricken region known as the Dust Bowl.
</P>
<P>
<B>MIDWEST/NORTHERN PLAINS:</B> Warmer and drier; some concern about next year's crops getting a slow start from a dry winter. Could have some effect on the commodities market. There should be some big savings on heating bills here and in the Northeast.
</P>
<P>
<B>NORTHEAST:</B> Some experts conjecture that El Nino could intensify storms, triggering beach erosion and coastal property damage. Weather generally warmer; consumers save a bit on heating; oil, gas and electric companies could conversely take a minor hit.
</P>
<P>
<B>SOUTHEAST:</B> Warm and wet along the Gulf and Southeast Atlantic coasts; no extreme effects except for the heightened risk of ice storms north of Florida and the Gulf Coast. Florida Keys researchers are already reporting unusual damage to temperature-sensitive coral reefs.
</P>
<P>
Past records suggest that El Nino suppresses Atlantic/Caribbean hurricanes. For example, the two worst hurricane periods in the 20th century are the 1930s and the early 1990s; they coincide with notable periods of low El Nino activity.
</P>
<P>
<B>HAWAII:</B> El Nino generally, but not always, has increased mid-Pacific storms.
</P>
</BODY>
]]>