By Kasey Bubnash
The Advocate
As promised, this year’s powerful El Niño has helped hamper tropical activity in the Atlantic Ocean, allowing for only a single hurricane so far. Now, forecasters are warning that the phenomenon could have a hand in shaping the nation’s winter weather outlook, bringing above-average rain and a heightened risk of flooding to south Louisiana. Local weather forecasters are warning of an incoming wet winter after Pearl River County, Mississippi, saw an estimated 15 inches of rain in three hours on Halloween, inundating roads and flooding homes in the rural area.