Effects of El Nino Weather Pattern in Denver & L.A.

This research examines the effects of the El Ni±o weather pattern on the Denver Metropolitan Area and the Los Angeles Basin. The focus of this research is limited to the effects of the 1982-1983 El Ni±o on temperatures and precipitation in the two areas.

El Ni±o is a name given to the periodic oscillation of water temperatures in the southern Pacific ocean (Aceitune, 1992, pp. 483-485). This phenomenon is also referred to as the Southern Oscillation, and by an acronym (ENSO) based upon a combination of the other two terms.

The El Ni±o phenomenon is characterized by a warming of the waters in the Pacific ocean (Kerr, 1993, pp. 656-657). The greater the amount of warning of the Pacific waters that occurs, the more severe are the atmospheric effects. The 1982-1983 El Ni±o was the most severe ENSO to occur over the past four decades.

The typical El Ni±o begins in the late summer or early fall, and the atmospheric effects stemming from the El Ni±o typically begin in the following late winter or early spring (Kerr, 1993, pp. 656-657). The 1982-1983 El Ni±o was unusually in that the ENSO began in April of 1982. As a consequence, the atmospheric effects stemming from the El Ni±o began in the fall of 1982 rather than in the first-half of calendar year 1983.

The direct atmospheric effects of an El Ni±o extend for a period of six months to a year subsequent to the beginning of such effects (Kerr, 1993, pp. 656-657). The di

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l 83 1.9 2.2 + 0.3 (2) (2) 0.0 Aug 83 1.5 1.8 + 0.3 0.1 1.7 + 1.6 (1) Norms represent averages for the 30-year period 1951-1980. (2) Less than 0.05 inches. ----------------------------------------------------------------- While heavy rains occurred in the Los Angeles area during the November 1982-February 1983 period, these rains were not inconsistent with normal rainfall for the period over the preceding 30 years (refer to Chart 1). Rasmusson and Wallace (1983, p. 1201) observed that "the correlations between various indices of the ENSO phenomenon and California rainfall are not very impressive." In the Denver area, rainfall was below the norm for the January-February period (refer to Chart 1). The Chart 2 Temperature (Degrees) Effects of the El Ni±o of 1982-1983 on the Denver Metropolitan Area and the Los Angeles Basin ----------------------------------------------------------------- Month/Year Denver Los Angeles ---------------------- ---------------------- Norm Actual Effect Norm Actual E
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Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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