Skip to main content

What Is El Niño, Anyway?

If you’re like millions and millions of mildly quizzical Americans, you have probably found yourself wondering: “Hey, just what is El Niño, anyway?” in the recent weeks or months. The scientific and meteorological communities are abuzz with chatter about this relatively rare weather phenomenon, and their excitement has leaked into the media and then into the collective semi-conscioussness* of the nation… but what is it?

Related: Winter Weather and Your Car

Recommended Videos

Well, don’t listen to me prattle on when we can instead get the 4-1-1 from the late great Chris Farley!

OK… fine comedy notwithstanding, that video offers little in the way of explanation. Sigh… looks like I’ll have to go ahead and explain this myself after all.

Simply put, El Niño is the name given to an interrelated atmospheric and oceanic phenomenon wherein unseasonably warm water in the Pacific Ocean leads to more rainfall across North America. Less simply put, it is the warmer phase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (or ENSO… thank you very much National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association!) cycle. There is a standard cycle of temperature fluctuations between the ocean and atmosphere, but sometimes they get a bit more… dramatic, shall we say.

Here’s the breakdown…

El-Nino-JPL-comparison-teaser-55659During El Niño years, the trade winds that usually push the warmer waters off the coast of South and Central America weaken, allowing those warmer waters to pool and suppressing the upwell of deeper, colder waters.

See how warm those patches of water look there back in 1997 and again during this 2015-2016 winter? Yep, that’s what happens when the lazy trade winds slack off. (For shame, lazy, shirk-a-day trade winds.) That warmer water ends up leading to greater than usual evaporation which in turn leads to increased levels of precipitation (that’s rain and snow. And sleet. And hail).

ElNino-Jet-Wintertime-PatternBecause the weaker trade winds and warmer waters draw the Jet Stream farther south than usual, during an El Niño winter, that increased precipitation falls largely on the southern United States. See that blue band of… um… “wet” there in that graphic? Yep, that’s where the extra water goes.

And of course while more water than usual is falling across North America, less water falls in other parts of the world. So while there are downpours and floods here, there are often droughts in other places such as India and Indonesia. This reduced rainfall can result in extreme food shortages and greatly increased risk of wild fires, both of which, in scientific terms, suck.

But why is it called El Niño?

Ah! Great question! I’m glad…  that I assumed you asked it, and therefore posed the question myself… on your behalf.

Anyway…

The weather phenomenon today universally referred to as El Niño was given its name by fishermen plying the waters of the western coast of South America. The warmer waters disrupted the health of the fisheries, lowering the annual catch and impacting the local economy. As this always tended to happen near the Christmas season, the fishermen began to refer to the occurrence as El Niño, which in English means The Child, which refers to none other than The Christ Child.

So… if El Niño rains/droughts/floods/snow ruin your crops/day/commute/life, you can go ahead and just say:

Jesus Christ

__________________________________________________________________

*That is not a term, nor would this be a correct use of the correct term “collective consciousness,” just FYI. 

Steven John
Steven John is a writer and journalist living just outside New York City, by way of 12 years in Los Angeles, by way of…
Don’t ruin your cigars: here’s how to properly season a new humidor
Seasoning secrets every cigar lover could use
faceless man presenting a cigar humidor with cigars inside with gloved hands

If you're a newcomer to the world of cigars or just bought a brand-new humidor, you'll need to season it. And no, I'm not saying to add salt and pepper to it. If you've never heard of it, you might ask, "What is seasoning for a humidor?"

Don't think you need to flavor the box or anything — seasoning is really about getting the wood inside your humidor so as not to rob your cigars of precious moisture. Easy to understand, and getting it done is relatively straightforward as well. The trick is figuring out the "why," and we'll get into that in a bit. But let's first discuss seasoning a humidor.

Read more
The NBA’s ultimate celebration tool: The victory cigar
A look at the players and coaches who smoke to celebrate
Jordan smoking a cigar image on a bag

Sports are synonymous with celebration. After winning the biggest trophy of their lives, athletes want to indulge in the payoff that comes with seeing their dreams realized. Teams go into the locker room, where a waterfall of champagne hits them in the eyes, and swimming goggles seem to be a requirement, lest you walk around on the best night of your life half blind. While drinking is often the activity of choice after winning a championship, the NBA has an alternative symbol of greatness that other sports don't use nearly enough: the victory cigar.

Basketball is a team game, but it's also an individual canvas for solo superstardom. After winning an NBA championship, the coaches and players who sit atop the throne have long smoked a cigar in the locker room, during the parade, or even on the bench before the clock has hit zero. There's nothing quite like a good stogie to signify the ultimate win over the rest of the league, but how did the victory cigar get so ingrained in NBA championship celebrations? We want to take a walk down memory lane and look at some of the historical moments and people who made the cigar what it is within the NBA today.
Red Auerbach's victory cigar on the bench
Red Auerbach: The Story Behind the Victory Cigar + His Disdain of NBA Officials - Red on Roundball

Read more
The best medical shows of all time to binge now
From ER to The Pitt, these are the best medical shows ever made
Noah Wyle in the Pitt

Throughout TV's long history, the medical drama has occupied a somewhat unique place in the landscape. Medical shows are often some of the most reliable on TV precisely because there's so much drama built in to working in a hospital.

Personally, I've found the medical drama to be deeply comforting for years, even if I have no desire to be a doctor myself. Understanding the stress of people in the healthcare profession is fascinating in and of itself.

Read more