keeping began in 1950. el nino circa 1997 devastated parts of southern california with floods and mudslides and looking at this year, nasa is telling the "l.a. times" this has the potential of being the godzilla el nino. here's why. so far this year's el nino is already stronger in the same time of year, 1997, which is shown on the left. 2015 is shown on the right. you can see that band of heat there. those areas in red and white are the warmest sea surface temperatures. the trend this year is bad. it is those warm temperatures that stir up the strongest storms of el nino carrying all that energy. this graph underscores the problem. temperatures west of peru are higher which is a key factor scientists look for. a sliver of good news, this year's el nino has contributed to heavy rain that has lessened drought conditions in colorado, texas and oklahoma. massive rains after sustained