El Niño Is Coming To Town

Anjali M. and Tiffy W.

During winter in certain years, there’s one weather event that you might hear about often: El Niño.

El Niño is a weather pattern that comes from changes in ocean temperatures in the Pacific. El Niño can be a hazard to most environments and people’s lifestyles.

During an El Niño, ocean waters become abnormally warm. This causes the tropospheric ozone (the closest ozone layer to earth) to decrease over certain regions of the globe, which increases the chance of fires in tropical areas like the Amazon forests of Central and South America. Occurring every two to seven years, El Niños are triggered when winds in the Pacific Ocean weaken or reverse direction.

“What we learned is weak El Niños don’t necessarily change the odds of precipitation being much different from normal,” said Martin Hoerling to prnewswire.com “The rare occurrence of a strong El Niño, like what we’re currently experiencing, however, greatly increases the odds of a wet California winter.”

There are multiples ways to prepare for El Niño, according to the Los Angeles Times. These ways include fixing the leaks in your home, make sure your yard drains properly, and consider flood insurance even if you’re not in a high-risk area.

El Niño typically lasts for more than one year. After El Niño’s highest peak,  it slowly declines. This results in ocean water temperatures gradually becoming colder.

“This thing is getting ready to have a second peak,” Patzert said. “I think El Niño will live up to its hype, but you have to be patient.”

For more info, check out http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nasa-examines-global-impacts-of-the-2015-el-nino-300193131.html.