What are El Nino and La

Nina?
• El Nino - (El Nee-nyo) is the warming of
water in the Pacific Ocean.
• La Nina - (Lah Nee-Nyah) is the cooling
of water in the Pacific Ocean.

El Nino Weather La Nina Weather

• Rain and flooding along the
• Snow and rain on the west coast
Pacific coast
• Unusually cold weather in Alaska
• Warm water disrupts food chain
• Unusually warm weather in the
of fish, birds, and sea mammals
rest of the USA
• Tornadoes and thunderstorms in
• Drought in the southwest
southern US
• Higher than normal number of
• Fewer than normal hurricanes in
hurricanes in the Atlantic
the Atlantic

Interesting Facts
• El Nino was first discovered hundreds of years ago by fishermen off the
coast of Peru.
• El Nino means "Little Boy" and was named after the Christ child,
because it usually starts around Christmas.
• El Nino is officially called ENSO - El Nino Southern Oscillation.
• La Nina means "Little Girl." It is also called El Viejo, which means "old
man," or an ENSO cold event.
• La Nina occurs roughly half as often as El Nino
• El Nino and La Nina are the most powerful phenomenon on the earth
and alter the climate across more than half the planet.
• El Nino may be caused by underwater volcanoes in the Pacific.
• El Niño
The term El Niño (Spanish for "the little boy" or "the Christ Child") was
originally used by fishermen along the coasts of Ecuador and Peru to refer to
above-normal sea-surface temperatures that typically appear around
Christmas time in the eastern Pacific Ocean and last for several months. But
El Niño's effects are not limited to Peru and Ecuador.
 They can impact weather patterns around the world, and the disruption of
the normal climate can have profound and even tragic consequences.
• How Does El Niño Work?
In normal years, winds tend to blow from east to west across the waters of
the tropical Pacific. The easterly winds (remember that wind directions refer
to the direction FROM which the wind comes: an easterly trade wind comes
from the EAST and blows WEST) push the surface waters westward across the
ocean. In turn, this causes deeper, colder waters to rise to the surface. This
"upwelling" of deep ocean waters brings with it nutrients that otherwise would
remain near the bottom. Fish populations living in the upper waters are
dependent on these nutrients for survival.
• During El Niño years, the winds weaken, reducing or even choking off the
upwelling of deep water. The consequent warming of the ocean surface
further weakens the winds and strengthens El Niño. As the Pacific continues
to heat up, the warmer waters shift eastward, and so do the clouds and
thunderstorms that produce heavy rainfall along the equator. This results in
changes in jet streams (the winds high aloft), which lead to dry conditions in
Indonesia and Australia, and floods in Peru and Ecuador. El Niño events occur
on average every 3 to 5 years, though there can be periods of up to a decade
without an El Niño.
•
• El Niño's Effects
The 1982-83 El Niño was unusually strong. In Ecuador
and northern Peru, up to 100 inches of rain fell during a
six-month period, transforming the coastal desert into
grassland dotted with lakes. Abnormal wind patterns also
caused the monsoon rains to fall over the central Pacific
instead of on the western shores, which led to droughts
and disastrous forest fires in Indonesia and Australia.
Overall, the loss to the global economy as a result of the
El Niño amounted to more than $8 billion.
• Likewise, the winter of 1997-1998 was marked by a record-breaking El Niño
event. The result was unusual weather in parts of the world, including the
U.S. Severe weather events included flooding in the southeastern United
States, major storms in the Northeast, and flooding in California.
•
• La Niña
El Niño's twin sister is La Niña ("the little girl" in
Spanish). Her effects are, as any siblings would
expect, the exact opposite of El Niño's: for
instance, precipitation is below normal in California
and the southeastern U.S.! La Niña is characterized
by below-normal sea surface temperatures in the
eastern equatorial Pacific. There are large
Normal • El Niño • La variations in weather for many U.S. locations from
warm spells to cold waves during a La Niña winter.
Niña
• El Niño and Global Warming: Any Connection?

Scientists still cannot say with certainty that global warming is affecting El
Niño events. In January 1999, however, scientists at the National Center for
Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and elsewhere reported that global warming
may accentuate El Niño's current and future impacts. El Niño events have
become more frequent and have had greater climate impacts over the past
century. This change in El Niño events corresponds to a rise in global
temperatures. To see how El Niño and La Niña change North America's
seasons, check out WHEN.