Nearly all of Taiwan shut down in October as a monster storm large enough to engulf the island of 23 million people roared toward its north-eastern coast.
Despite typhoon season usually peaking around September to October, the pattern is likely to raise concerns across a region already battered by back-to-back storms.
El Niño is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon in which warm waters pooling in the eastern Pacific and altered wind patterns drive extreme weather around the world.
Japan has urged citizens to stockpile food and essentials for the typhoon season and to secure outdoor furniture that could become deadly projectiles when typhoon winds hit.
China's climate agency has warned that sea surface temperatures will continue to rise over the next three months because of El Niño.
Even for countries where typhoons are a way of life, the last few months have brought unusually wild weather.
El Niño also affects wind patterns, and in this case that means typhoons are tending to form further east than usual.
Countries are bracing for the immediate impact.
Typhoon Champi packed 295 km/h (193 mph) winds, equivalent to a category five hurricane, with the power to flatten homes and whip up destructive waves.
Researchers arrived at what one scientist described as very, very scary findings: higher temperatures increased total accumulated rainfall by 26 percent.