El Niño and La Niña climate patterns explained

By Zoila Palma Gonzalez: The 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season is predicted to be an active season with 23 named storms.

Every Hurricane season, weather experts and Meteorologists refer to the El Niño and La Niña climate patterns.

El Niño and La Niña are both climate patterns in the Pacific Ocean that can affect weather worldwide.

According to the NationalOcean Service, during normal conditions in the Pacific ocean, trade winds blow west along the equator, taking warm water from South America towards Asia.

To replace that warm water, cold water rises from the depths — a process called upwelling.

El Niño and La Niña are two opposing climate patterns that break these normal conditions.

Scientists call these phenomena the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle.

Both weather patterns can both have global impacts on weather, wildfires, ecosystems, and economies.

El Niño and La Niña events occur every two to seven years, on average, but they don’t occur on a regular schedule.

Generally, El Niño occurs more frequently than La Niña.

During El Niño, trade winds weaken. Warm water is pushed back east, toward the west coast of the Americas.

The warmer waters cause the Pacific jet stream to move south of its neutral position. With this shift, areas in the northern U.S. and Canada are dryer and warmer than usual. But in the U.S. Gulf Coast and Southeast, these periods are wetter than usual and have increased flooding.

Meanwhile, La Niña has the opposite effect of El Niño.

During La Niña events, trade winds are even stronger than usual, pushing more warm water toward Asia. Off the west coast of the Americas, upwelling increases, bringing cold, nutrient-rich water to the surface.

During a La Niña year, winter temperatures are warmer than normal in the South and cooler than normal in the North. La Niña can also lead to a more severe hurricane season.

La Niña causes the jet stream to move northward and to weaken over the eastern Pacific. During La Niña winters, the South sees warmer and drier conditions than usual. The North and Canada tend to be wetter and colder.

While El Niño generally suppresses hurricane activity in the Atlantic, it can have the opposite effect in the Pacific Ocean.

The warmer sea surface temperatures associated with El Niño provide favorable conditions for hurricane development in the eastern Pacific.

Meanwhile, La Niña can contribute to an increase in Atlantic hurricane activity by weakening the wind shear over the Caribbean Sea and tropical Atlantic Basin, which enables storms to develop and intensify.

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