0
El Nino and La Nina
El Nino and La Nina are opposite phases of ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation), a coupled ocean-atmosphere oscillation in the Tropical Pacific Ocean that exerts an influence on weather throughout much of the world. Being an oscillation, it moves between these two phases every few years, triggered initially by changes in the atmospheric circulation with ocean temperature changes following. It is measured by the Southern Oscillation Index, which compares surface pressures at Tahiti and Darwin, Australia.
313 Questions
What instruments are used to monitor an el nino?
Instruments commonly used to monitor an El Niño event include satellites for remote sensing of sea surface temperature anomalies, buoys to measure ocean temperatures and currents, and weather balloons to collect atmospheric data. These instruments help scientists track the development and intensity of El Niño events and make predictions about their impacts.
Is the Atlantic ocean more likely to have a high number of hurricanes during an el nino?
Yes, during an El Niño event, the Atlantic Ocean is more likely to have a higher number of hurricanes. This is because El Niño creates atmospheric conditions that are conducive to hurricane formation, such as weaker wind shear and warmer ocean temperatures.
What happens to the air circulation during el nino event?
During an El Niño event, the normal atmospheric circulation patterns weaken. The warm waters in the central and eastern Pacific disrupt the typical pattern of atmospheric pressure, affecting the position of the jet stream and altering global weather patterns. This can lead to increased rainfall in some regions and droughts in others.
What type of weather will the western coast of South America experience during El Nino?
During El Niño, the western coast of South America typically experiences warmer and wetter weather conditions than usual. This can lead to heavy rainfall, flooding, and increased risk of landslides in the region.
What could happened to food production in Florida if an el nino hits?
If an El Niño event hits Florida, it could bring warmer and drier conditions to the region. This can lead to reduced crop yields, increased water stress on agriculture, and potential crop damage from extreme weather events like hurricanes and flooding. Overall, food production in Florida could be negatively impacted by an El Niño event.
How does el nino affect the foodchain?
El Niño can disrupt the food chain by causing ocean temperatures to rise, which affects the distribution and abundance of marine species. This can lead to changes in the availability of food for predators, impacting their survival and reproduction. Shifts in nutrient availability and productivity can also impact lower trophic levels of the food chain.
How does el nino affect weather in Michigan?
El Niño in Michigan typically brings warmer and wetter conditions, resulting in milder winters with less snowfall and potentially more precipitation during the spring and summer. This can lead to an increase in flooding and storm events in the region.
Where does flooding occur during la Nĩna?
During La Niña events, flooding tends to occur in regions such as Australia, Southeast Asia, parts of South America, and the southern United States. These regions experience increased rainfall that can lead to higher river levels and overflowing of water bodies, resulting in flooding.
What are 'El Niño' and 'La Niña'?
They are both sets of weather patterns.
El Niño is a weather phenomena which tends to occur in tropical waters of the Pacific Ocean. It affects the region across the Pacific from New Guinea to South America, known as the Equatorial Pacific. During an El Niño season, which occurs on average every 2-7 years, a shift in ocean currents and winds brings warm water towards the eastern Pacific, displacing the usual cold water that comes up from the ocean depths. As well as affecting marine life, the El Niño has an effect on weather patterns.
Under normal conditions, in the tropics warm oceans tend to be accompanied by heavy rains, resulting in heavy rains in the warm west Pacific while the cooler east Pacific receives far less rainfall. This is reversed during an El Niño, when the ocean temperature gradient from one side of the Pacific to the other weakens. Warmer than usual eastern ocean temperatures cause droughts in the west, while the unusually warm eastern waters bring heavy rains and floods to the Pacific coast of South America, which is usually much drier.
It's all a matter of interactions between the oceans and the atmosphere. Changes in sea surface temperatures causes a shift in air pressure which, in turn, can result in climatic anomalies, such as severe droughts, flooding and even cyclones. One of the effects is that the normal circulation patterns over the Pacific are disrupted, and moisture-bearing trade winds weaken, whilst drier westerlies increase.
El Niño has a number of effects, beyond causing droughts and floods on opposite sides of the Pacific. It causes die-offs of plankton and fish and affects Pacific jet stream winds, altering storm tracks and creating unusual weather patterns in various parts of the world. Scientific investigations of this phenomenon are ongoing, and it is yet to be determined whether El Niño is oceanic or atmospheric.
La Niña is the opposite to El Nino. It involves cooler than normal sea temperatures in the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean. This means that weather conditions, etc, are in reverse to those seen during El Niño.
Both phenomena are phases of warming and cooling in the Tropical Pacific Ocean. They cycle through after a period of years - the number is not precise and can range considerably compared to other phenomena like this - and usually have some warning signs the year before a change.
The names are derived from Spanish: El Nino is spanish for "boy" and La Nina is spanish for "girl".
Depending on the prevailing weather patterns, each is (respectively) a warmer than usual or colder than usual local ocean current off the western coast of South America.
What effect does La Nina have in the Caribbean?
La Niña in the Caribbean typically brings cooler sea surface temperatures, leading to reduced hurricane activity and lower chances of tropical storm formation. It can also result in increased rainfall in some areas, potentially leading to flooding and other water-related issues.
El Niño can lead to drier than normal conditions in parts of Asia, such as Australia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It can also cause disruptions in weather patterns, leading to impacts on agriculture, water availability, and even an increase in tropical cyclone activity in some regions of Asia.
According to the Scripps Institute, La Nina conditions (ie eastern pacific cooling) are likely to persist until the middle of this year. El Nino is forecast to become the prevailing phase in the end of the year and the beginning of next (2010) See http://meteora.ucsd.edu/~pierce/elnino/pictures.html The Australian Bureau of Meteorology seems to concur. They publish several different researchers computer modelling, and La Nina will remain for another few months, it may then be neutral or starting an El Nino later in the year, See http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/ahead/ENSO-summary.shtml So to answer your question, 2009 is not an El Nino year as such, but it may see the start of one, leading on to 2010, which presumably will be an El Nino year. Dr J K Monro, Wellington.
When is it going to snow in Manchester in 2011?
the snow is not expected sadly in 2011 but manchester is more than likely to get snow at the start of january 24.
You may refer to the following link, which is self explanatory: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_shadow Answered on 26/06/2009 by: Jeril
How does El Nino effect Michigan?
The greatest impact is above normal precipitation in the winter, which occurs especially over the southern third of the state. This can bring on mudslides and enhanced beach erosion as storms hit more frequently. The effects on temperature are negligible, and can go either way.
Did el nino cause the great ice storm of 1998?
El Nino doesn't directly cause anything. It did have somewhat of an influence though, and helped to indirectly get a lot of warmth and moisture transported up into the northeast though to override the cold high pressure already sitting up there. There are a lot of factors that go into these things. ENSO being in the phase it was helped somewhat but you can never blame something like an ice storm on one thing.
What is the 5 tips to do after la Nina?
- Monitor weather patterns for potential impacts.
- Assess any infrastructure damage and make necessary repairs.
- Restock emergency supplies in case of future extreme weather events.
- Implement soil and water conservation measures to mitigate flooding or erosion.
- Stay informed about any post-La Niña developments and forecasts.
Are there more or less hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean during El Nino?
During an El Nino event, there tends to be fewer hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean. This is because El Nino conditions typically create stronger wind shear over the Atlantic, which can inhibit hurricane formation and intensification.
Is the world in El Nino or La Nina?
It is important to note that El Niño and La Niña are climate phenomena that occur in the Pacific Ocean and can impact weather patterns globally. Currently, the world is experiencing La Niña conditions, which typically bring cooler sea surface temperatures to the central and eastern Pacific Ocean.
How would El Nino affect the water cycle?
El Niño typically leads to changes in global weather patterns, impacting the water cycle by causing shifts in precipitation patterns. It can result in increased rainfall in some regions and drought conditions in others, disrupting the normal flow of water within the atmosphere and on Earth's surface. The altered precipitation patterns can lead to flooding, landslides, and changes in agricultural productivity.
How does EL Nino affect the farming economy?
El Niño can impact the farming economy by causing extreme weather conditions such as droughts or floods, which can lead to crop failures, reduced yields, and increased production costs. It can also disrupt planting and harvesting schedules, leading to lower agricultural productivity and potential income losses for farmers.
Does el nino and la nino effect the weather in the southern US?
Yes, both El Niño and La Niña can affect the weather in the southern US. El Niño typically brings wetter and cooler conditions to the region, while La Niña tends to result in drier and warmer weather. These changes in sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean can influence atmospheric circulation patterns, leading to altered weather patterns in various regions, including the southern US.
How can the EL nino be prevented?
La Nina is something that naturally occurs in nature. You cannot prevent it from happening. However, there is something that you can do to lessen the impact and make it less severe. Limiting greenhouse gasses will lessen the severity of La Nina.
El Niño can cause fire by creating dry and warm conditions in some regions due to changes in global weather patterns. These conditions can lead to droughts, which in turn can dry out vegetation, making it more susceptible to catching fire and spreading quickly. Additionally, the increased temperatures associated with El Niño can amplify the risk of fire occurrence and intensity.
