El Ninos are feared in places like Indonesia, Australia, India, Brazil, Mexico, and parts of Africa where devastating droughts are possible. In the United States, southern states from California to Florida are vulnerable to damage from a barrage of strong winter storms. However, the patterns of weather associated with strong El Nino events also produce many very positive effects and benefits. For example, the milder temperatures of strong El Nino winters in the interior northern United States reduces heating costs for both homes and industry and the operating costs for transportation both by air and on land. Less snowfall in the north lowers the costs of snow removal for government and industry, and enables the construction industry to work more during the winter months.
Shoppers are able to get to and from stores more easily and often and retail sales benefit.
El Nino also typically results in less flooding during the spring and fewer hurricanes in the summer. He showed that the benefits were much greater than the losses. Ironically, in weak El Ninos, the picture may be very different. In weak El Nino winters, you still get an increased number of storms but without as much added warmth. The cold and snow also reduce or even eliminate many of the benefits that occur in strong El Ninos.