SAN DIEGO -- Researchers at Scripps Institute of Oceanography in La Jolla predict this winter's El Nino to be stronger than earlier predicted, 10News reported.

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Despite Dry Weather, Rain Is On The Way

Thermal maps reveal that Pacific Ocean temperatures grew rapidly over the last week of October and are expected to intensify over the next couple of months, according to research marine physicist Tim Barnett.

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"What we normally understand El Nino to be is a warming of the waters in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Generally when (temperatures) get above normal temperatures for four to five months, it's classified as an El Nino," Barnett said.

"You wouldn't think that the equatorial ocean has that impact on us, but it does. A lot of moisture that eventually falls as rain comes from that part of the world," Barnett added.

San Diego is no stranger to El Nino. In winter 1997, San Diego was hit hard by the weather phenomenon, resulting in heavy flooding and damaging surf.

Will this El Nino bring the same problems as in 1997?

"If you tried to measure on a 1-to-10 scale, this year's El Nino is going to rate a five. When El Nino hit in '97, it was a 10-plus," Barnett said.

He said that researchers cannot predict exactly what will happen this winter, but agreed that San Diego is in desperate need of rain.

However, with rain comes massive amounts of water moving through San Diego storm drains, eventually emptying into the ocean.

Representatives from the county's storm water program said that they are working to prepare for the extra rain by using a machine called the Vactor truck.

"In essence it is a big, giant vacuum cleaner that sucks debris and other litter from the storm drains," storm water program manager Cid Tesoro said.

More than 14,000 storm drains throughout San Diego County are cleaned once a year, removing a mountain of debris, according to 10News.

"I'll give you an example. It's like filling a football field end zone to end zone, sideline to sideline with a debris pile that is nine feet high," Tesoro said.

Crews find everything from Styrofoam cups, shopping carts, and even sofas.

They also test the water for chemical pollutants.

"Everything that ends up on the ground is going somewhere else that we don't like. It's not going to a big trash can, its going into a water body somewhere," county water quality spokesman Jon Van Rhyn said.

Van Rhyn said what matters most is educating the public.

"The big thing that people can do to help keep our storm drains clean is to put litter where it belongs -- in the trash," Van Rhyn said.

If you would like more information, call the county's storm water hot line at (888) 846-0800 or visit the Project Clean Water Web site.