|
|
|
|
La Nina, Like El Nino, Brings Bizarre Weather La Nina, a cooling trend in the mid-Pacific, caused weather to be very strange in much of the world during the winter of 1998-99. By GSReport Start Date: 3/10/99 The cooling of Pacific Ocean water called La Nina, twin sister and counterpart to the ocean warming called El Nino, is bringing strange and often devastating weather to many nations of the Pacific Rim. The El Nino condition that ended last summer was the most severe in recent memory. Now, the converse La Nina appears to be equally severe in its consequences. The back-to-back conditions may signal the beginning of a new climate pattern characterized by greater extremes of both heating and cooling, bringing major changes in rainfall -- more drought in some places, more flooding in others -- and more numerous and severe storms to much of the world. According to John Janowiak, a scientist with the U.S. Weather Service, "This La Nina provides the physical link between many of the unusual weather patterns seen recently in far-flung parts of the globe." Among the numerous weather oddities attributed to this La Nina: -- In Colorado, the winter has been strangely warm and dry. Many days in December and January saw temperatures of up to 60 degrees F. In nearby Arizona, similar conditions mean that cactuses probably won't bloom this spring. Firefighters in Arizona and New Mexico are already bracing for a year of worse-than-usual wildfires. -- In the U.S. Pacific Northwest, rain and snow have fallen in record amounts. Seattle saw 89 days of rain out of 119 days ending February 27. The nearby Olympic Peninsula reportedly measured five feet of rain during that period, while nearby Mount Baker registered 68.6 feet (yes, feet) of snow -- 33 inches in one day alone. -- In Alaska, winter temperatures have dropped as low as 74 degrees below zero F. -- Heavy rains in Indonesia are threatening key export crops including coffee and pepper, and may also reduce the main staple food crop of the area, rice. -- Farmers in Australia have already seen their wheat crops damaged by too much rain, and now fear that their cotton crops will be hurt as well. In some parts of Australia, the rains have been the heaviest ever recorded. Rains are also contributing to the spread of weeds and pests. -- Torrential rains in the coffee-growing regions of Colombia will reduce that nation's principal export crop. -- La Nina is also blamed for severe storms and flooding in southern Africa and drought in Kenya and Tanzania. However, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Doug LeComte, La Nina is not the cause of this year's severe weather in Europe. That part of the world is not readily affected by the Pacific conditions. Not all the effects of La Nina seem negative. Due to unseasonably warm weather, the Unites States as a whole has reportedly experienced a 10 percent energy savings during this winter; Florida's energy savings are nearly 50 percent. In Malaysia, the world's largest producer of palm oil, above-normal rainfall is expected to increase the oil palm yields by up to 3 percent. Malaysian earnings from palm oil may be up to 73 percent higher than last year, industry experts believe. Weather variation is normal, of course. But such a sudden swing between an El Nino of record severity and this La Nina, also of record severity, has not been seen before, according to climate experts. Whether it is a chance occurrence or the start of a new and potentially dangerous pattern remains to be seen.
Built by Frontier on a Macintosh on 6/17/00; 11:59:55 AM. Web Comments  -
Produced by Larry LoweServed 2455 times since 3/10/99. |
|
