By: Maddie O’Shea
El Niño has already created a major blizzard in Pennsylvania, but forecasters don’t believe the storm is over quite yet.
Recently, NASA released photos of a Jason-2 image (below) showing a peaked El Niño and comparing similarities in both December 2015 and December 1997. The El Niño of 1997 was one of the most powerful ever recorded, notoriously known for causing $35 billion in destruction and 23,000 deaths around the world. While El Niño is predicted to slow down in the spring, no one knows for sure how long the storm will rage on.
In the 1660’s, fishermen became introduced to El Niño when they noticed unusually warm waters in the Pacific Ocean. The name, translating to ‘Child Christ’ in Spanish, was chosen based on the time when it occurred (usually around late December).
El Niño’s onset results from interaction between the surface layers of the ocean and the overlying atmosphere in the tropical Pacific. Typically, trade winds blow east to west because of the Earth’s rotation. However, during El Niño westward-blowing winds in the Pacific weaken or reverse direction, warming oceans in the central and eastern tropical Pacific. As clouds and storms follow the warm water, they pump heat and moisture into the atmosphere. These abnormalities weaken trade winds and interfere with atmospheric pressure.
Not only has El Niño affected the United States, but also the rest of the world as well, harming some countries and benefitting others. For places in the South Pacific such as Indonesia and Peru, drought and wildfire have taken a toll economically. However, Canada and Mexico’s economy improved due to less disruptive weather. As well, the U.S. has benefited in some states; California and Texas received a well needed rainfall. Also, tornado activity decreased in mid-western states.
According to a NASA article regarding Earth’s energy imbalance, 90 percent of extra heat is absorbed by oceans. We already put so much greenhouse gases into the environment, and even the slightest interaction between ocean water and atmosphere can produce a wide reaching impact.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, El Niño, “is expected to gradually weaken through spring 2016.” As we anticipate the warming of cooler weather going into spring, we have to sit back and wait for this storm to pass.
