Global Weather Patterns Activity

Instructions: Read the information below answer the background information questions. Then, follow the
instructions to convey your findings in a slideshow presentation.

What Is ENSO?
© 2016 NOAA Climate.gov

El Niño and La Niña are recurring climate patterns across the tropical Pacific. Together they make up the El
Niño-Southern Oscillation, or "ENSO" for short. ENSO is Earth's most influential natural climate pattern.

The pattern can shift back and forth irregularly every two to seven years and cause disruptions of
temperature, precipitation, and winds.

These changes disrupt the air movements in the tropics. During El Niño, there are warmer sea surface
temperatures in the Pacific. This weakens the easterly winds. During La Niña, the sea surface temperatures
are cooler than normal, and the easterly winds become stronger.

Answer the following questions:

1. What is El Niño? A recurring climate pattern that moves across the tropical pacific.
2. What is La Niña? A recurring climate pattern that moves across the tropical pacific.
3. How do El Niño and La Niña differ? El Nino weakens easterlies, while La Nina strengthens them.

United States Impacts

© 2016 NOAA Climate.gov

By modifying the Pacific jet streams, El Niño and La Niña can affect temperature and precipitation across the
United States. The influence on the U.S. is strongest during the Northern Hemisphere winter. This map shows
typical impacts of La Niña on U.S. winter weather. These impacts have been associated with La Niña events in
the past, but not all these impacts happen during every La Niña episode.

Answer the following question:

4. Based on the wintertime La Niña weather map, what do you think Florida's temperature and
precipitation would be like during a winter El Niño event? Cool and wet.
Global Impacts
El Niño and La Niña have their strongest impact on global climate during the Northern Hemisphere winter
and early spring.

El Niño and La Niña are opposite patterns. El Niño warms, and La Niña cools large areas of the tropical Pacific,
which influences where and how much it rains there. This disrupts the atmospheric circulation patterns,
which affect the mid-latitude jet streams. By modifying the jet streams, ENSO can affect temperature and
precipitation across the United States and in other parts of the world.

Answer the following question:

5. Choose one region on the world map. How does the climate there differ during El Niño and La Niña?
(I chose southern Asia) The climate during El Nino is warmer and dryer than the climate during La
Nina.

© 2016 NOAA Climate.gov

© 2016 NOAA Climate.gov

The Aftermath
Satellite image of record-breaking trio of Pacific hurricanes, Kilo, Ignacio, and Jimena on August 31, 2015. NOAA
GOES West image from NOAA EVL. © 2016 NOAA Climate.gov

El Niño was responsible for the following events in 2015:

 16 tropical cyclones in the central Pacific hurricane basin

 three category 4 hurricanes occurred at the same time
 emergency water rationed in St. Lucia and San Juan
 65 percent of Antigua's farmers went out of business
 northern, central, and southeastern Ethiopian highlands received 50–90 percent of their normal
rainfall

Answer the following question:

6. Select one of the effects from the list. Explain how the El Niño event affected weather, food
production, water supply, or human health. What is a possible solution to reduce the damaging
effects? In places that get the warm, dry part of El Nino, I think water towers would be essential.
With the towers, it's easy to ensure there is enough water to carry on with everyday life if there is a
drought. Simply take the excess water from La Nina, clean it, and store it into towers. As well as
supplying water through El Nino, it makes a place to put flood waters from La Nina.
Making Your Presentation
It's time to use your technology skills to show what you have learned about El Niño and La Niña. Your
presentation will be a slideshow that does the following:

 explains El Niño and La Niña

 compares and contrasts El Niño and La Niña
 makes predictions about the effects of El Niño and La Niña on local climate
 illustrates the effects of El Niño on real-world issues
 provides a solution for the damaging effects of an El Niño and La Niña event

Procedure
Select a program of your choice (Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, etc.) to create a slideshow
presentation. Add images that will help illustrate your answers. Be sure to cite the sources of the images.
Follow the template below to create your slideshow. Use proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation in your
slideshow.

7. Slide One: Introduction

o Describe El Niño and La Niña in your own words.

o Add at least one image to add interest.

8. Slide Two: Compare and Contrast

o Explain how El Niño and La Niña differ.

o Add at least one image to clarify the differences.

9. Slide Three: Data Analysis

o Explain how the climate in a specific region differs during El Niño and La Niña.
o Add at least one image to clarify the climate differences.

10. Slide Four: Effects

 o Describe how an El Niño event affected weather, food production, water supply, or human
health.
o Use at least one image to illustrate the effect(s).

11. Slide Five: Conclusion

o Provide a possible solution to reduce the damaging effects of an El Niño or La Niña event.
o Use at least one image to clarify the solution.