So, our local weatherman Dick Goddard (the oldest weatherman alive!!)
says this will be an El Nino winter.
He implies this means it’ll be warmer than usual (here in Ohio) and up and down weather (one week warm, one week cold).
So far, he’s been right.
What exactly is El Nino, and why does it mess up (supposedly) our weather?
Everything you ever wanted to know about El Nino (and his companion, El Nina) can be found here. Interesting stuff.
Basically, El Nino is an expansion of a warm pool of water in the Pacific Ocean. It certainly does have a major impact on global weather patterns, in part from changing the orentation of the Jet Stream. From the above site:
*Among these consequences are increased rainfall across the southern tier of the US and in Peru, which has caused destructive flooding, and drought in the West Pacific, sometimes associated with devastating brush fires in Australia. *
RR
El niño means “the boy” in Spanish and is named after the baby Jesus.