About this episode

Trent Ford discusses the El Niño phenomenon and its implications for climate and water supplies.

This week on Tap Talk, we are pleased to welcome to the show a colleague from the Illinois State Water Survey : Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford. Trent explains the weather phenomenon of El Niño to Steve & Jennifer, including the science behind the oscillation's mechanics, the likelihood of this year's El Niño becoming a "Super" El Niño, the expected impacts on regional climates around the world, and what these impacts can mean for water supplies and systems. Visit drinkingwaterpodcast.org to learn more and find the full show notes for this episode.

People in this episode

Hosts: Steve, Jennifer

Guest: Trent Ford

Topics covered

• El Niño
• climatology
• weather phenomena
• climate impacts
• water supply

Keywords

• El Niño
• climatology
• weather
• climate change
• water systems

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Illinois State Water Survey

More episodes of Tap Talk

• TT084 – Leadership in Drinking Water Regulation: Adapting to Modern Needs (Part 2) · July 9, 2026 · 28 min
• TT083 – Leadership in Drinking Water Regulation: Adapting to Modern Needs (Part 1) · July 2, 2026 · 32 min
• TT081 – The Other Side of Vermont's Flash Drought: Stories from Public Water Systems · June 11, 2026 · 39 min
• TT080 – What We Can Learn from Vermont's Flash Drought · June 4, 2026 · 35 min
• TT079 - The Septage Catch-22: When Better Maintenance Creates Bigger Problems · May 28, 2026 · 55 min
• TT078 – Building the Future Workforce with Rural Water Apprentices · May 21, 2026 · 46 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Tap Talk podcast page.