After months of anticipation, El Ni?o has officially developed and will have a heavy hand in shaping the weather patterns around the world into 2024.

On Thursday morning, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center announced that "El Ni?o conditions are present and are expected to gradually strengthen into the Northern Hemisphere for the winter of 2023-24."

El Ni?o is a regular climate phenomenon in the eastern Pacific Ocean when water temperatures near the equator are at least 0.9 of a degree F (0.5 of a degree C) above the historical average for a three-month period. The extended period of warmth in this region of the ocean alters the jet stream and the overall weather patterns across North America.