Will winter be milder due to ‘Godzilla El Nino’?

An intensifying El Nino is expected to remain across the Northeast—setting the stage for a milder winter season, according to a New York Post report.

Fewer subzero temperatures are predicted than last year due to the warming of the Pacific Ocean, according to AccuWeather’s 2015-16 U.S. Winter Forecast.

“We just don’t know exactly yet whether or not we’re going to see the pattern turn cold and snowy,” AccuWeather forecaster Paul Pastelok was quoted by the Post. “There is an opportunity that [the weather] could change on us as we get into February and early March.”

The weather system is so large that some experts refer to it as a “Godzilla El Nino.”

After last year brought severe cold to the Northeast, this season is expected to be milder, particularly during the early part of the season, the Post stated, adding that February 2015 was the second-coldest February on record for eight states, including New York, Pennsylvania and all six New England states.

Overall, heavy rain will be widespread for the South, and the weather system will especially impact California, where heavy rain will threaten to unleash flooding and mudslides, the Post reported.