EL NINO FAQs/How it affects Northeastern Ohio Winters
What in the heck is this EL NINO we speak of?
It is the warming of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean above normal values. This map shows the area in question. The first map shows the ocean temperatures in May of this year. The second is the ocean temperatures in October.
EL Nino conditions usually occur every 2 to 7 years. It varies from EL Nino to EL Nino. The last El Nino was in 2006-2007 but it was weak so you probably never heard about it. There is new evidence that suggests EL Nino events occured more than 10,000 years ago. El Nino affects have been well documented for hundreds of years so EL Nino patterns are not new.
According to the NOAA, El Niño was originally recognized by fisherman off the coast of South America as the appearance of unusually warm water in the Pacific ocean, occurring near the beginning of the year. El Niño means The Little Boy or Christ child in Spanish. This name was used for the tendency of the phenomenon to arrive around Christmas EL Nino is in the tropics. How can it effect the weather in the US? EL NINOs typically produce milder winters across the US with wetter than normal conditions across the southern states.
El Nino (warmer ocean) changes the temperature and pressure tendencies of the atmosphere above the ocean. This ulters the strength and position of the jet stream which changes the movement and strength of storm systems across the southern and northern hemisphere.
Doesn't EL Nino bring milder winters and low snowfall to Northeastern Ohio?
Historically, this has held true. The winters of 1982-83 and 1997-98 were text book examples. If we look back at the snowfalls during these two super-EL Nino winter, the seasonal amounts were well below normals. 1982-83: 56.9" and 1997-98: 37.0". Compare those two winters with the last 3 winters which averaged over 70", you can see that EL NINO's effects can be HUGE for us in northeastern Ohio.
How do we measure EL Nino?
The first way is to check the ocean temperatures using ocean buoys.
The ocean temperatures during an EL Nino will be warmer by only a few degrees as indicated by the warmer colors. This is a current animation of ocean temperature changes over the last several months. Australia is in the lower left of the map. North and South America is to the right.
What in the heck is this EL NINO we speak of?
It is the warming of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean above normal values. This map shows the area in question. The first map shows the ocean temperatures in May of this year. The second is the ocean temperatures in October.
EL Nino conditions usually occur every 2 to 7 years. It varies from EL Nino to EL Nino. The last El Nino was in 2006-2007 but it was weak so you probably never heard about it. There is new evidence that suggests EL Nino events occured more than 10,000 years ago. El Nino affects have been well documented for hundreds of years so EL Nino patterns are not new.
According to the NOAA, El Niño was originally recognized by fisherman off the coast of South America as the appearance of unusually warm water in the Pacific ocean, occurring near the beginning of the year. El Niño means The Little Boy or Christ child in Spanish. This name was used for the tendency of the phenomenon to arrive around Christmas EL Nino is in the tropics. How can it effect the weather in the US? EL NINOs typically produce milder winters across the US with wetter than normal conditions across the southern states.
El Nino (warmer ocean) changes the temperature and pressure tendencies of the atmosphere above the ocean. This ulters the strength and position of the jet stream which changes the movement and strength of storm systems across the southern and northern hemisphere.
Doesn't EL Nino bring milder winters and low snowfall to Northeastern Ohio?
Historically, this has held true. The winters of 1982-83 and 1997-98 were text book examples. If we look back at the snowfalls during these two super-EL Nino winter, the seasonal amounts were well below normals. 1982-83: 56.9" and 1997-98: 37.0". Compare those two winters with the last 3 winters which averaged over 70", you can see that EL NINO's effects can be HUGE for us in northeastern Ohio.
How do we measure EL Nino?
The first way is to check the ocean temperatures using ocean buoys.
The ocean temperatures during an EL Nino will be warmer by only a few degrees as indicated by the warmer colors. This is a current animation of ocean temperature changes over the last several months. Australia is in the lower left of the map. North and South America is to the right.
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