Global Weather Patterns Activity

Answer the following questions:

1. What is El Niño?
2. What is La Niña?
3. How do El Niño and La Niña differ?

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 of these impacts happen during every La Niña episode.

Answer the following question:

1. 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?

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:

1. Choose one region on the world map. How does the climate there differ during El Niño and La Niña?
   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:

1. 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?

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, Prezi, 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.

1. Slide One: Introduction 

   Describe El Niño and La Niña in your own words.
   Add at least one image to add interest.

2. Slide Two: Compare and Contrast 

   Explain how El Niño and La Niña differ.
   Add at least one image to clarify the differences.

3. Slide Three: Data Analysis 

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

4. Slide Four: Effects 

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

5. Slide Five: Conclusion 

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

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?

2. What is La Niña?

3. How do El Niño and La Niña differ?

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 of 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?

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?

© 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?

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, Prezi, 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.

1. Slide One: Introduction 

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

· Add at least one image to add interest.

2. Slide Two: Compare and Contrast 

· Explain how El Niño and La Niña differ.

· Add at least one image to clarify the differences.

3. Slide Three: Data Analysis 

· Explain how the climate in a specific region differs during El Niño and La Niña.

· Add at least one image to clarify the climate differences.

4. Slide Four: Effects 

· Describe how an El Niño event affected weather, food production, water supply, or human health.

· Use at least one image to illustrate the effect(s).

5. Slide Five: Conclusion 

· Provide a possible solution to reduce the damaging effects of an El Niño or La Niña event.

· Use at least one image to clarify the solution.