"For those of you who don't hablo espanol, El Nino is spanish for...uhhh...The Nino!"
Posted on 04/10/2006 5:28:31 PM PDT by CedarDave
One of the country's leading climate scientists says there is "a good chance" for a "super El Niño" next winter, a powerful warming in the Pacific Ocean linked to wet winters in the Southwest.
In a draft paper circulated to colleagues, NASA climate researcher James Hansen blames global warming for increasing the chance of extreme El Niños.
When they happen, such extreme El Niños can wreak weather havoc worldwide, from deep drought in Australia to flooding in California.
Hansen's new paper drew a flurry of attention among scientists because of his standing as one of the nation's most prominent climate scientists. But the most common reaction was caution.
"The graveyard is filled with missed El Niño forecasts," said Mickey Glantz at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.
Scientists also questioned Hansen's El Niño-global warming link, noting researchers' predictions on the subject vary widely. "There is no consensus," said University of New Mexico climate researcher Dave Gutzler.
One of the strongest reactions came from Mark Cane, at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in New York. "I strongly believe that most of what Jim Hansen writes about El Niño there is incorrect," Cane said in a phone interview Friday.
Hansen, head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City, could not be reached for comment Friday.
El Niño and its counterpart, La Niña, act like a global climate seesaw, tipping back and forth every few years as temperatures and winds across the equatorial Pacific shift.
When the seesaw tips to the warm side— El Niño— New Mexico and the Southwest generally have wet winters. When the seesaw tips to the cool side— La Niña, which we are experiencing now— things here tend to be dry.
(Excerpt) Read more at abqjournal.com ...
I know that winter here in the midwest was predicted to have average temperatures with above average snowfall. We ended up warmer than normal with lots of rain. I wasn't even able to get out on the lake past the end of November.
Bush's fault because he didn't sign Kyoto.
How does this equate with the fact that there's been no global warming since 1998?
Been listening to Rush, again, huh?
Man, we could sure use a wet year in Colorado this year....
I feel a pimple growong on my nose ... IT MUST BE GLOBAL WARMING!!!!!
Is global warming to blame for everything?!?!?!
Can anyone prove global warming is happing #1 and #2 can they prove that mankind is causing it? NO they can't .... Now I don't want to hear any more of it!!
Rush spoke about the article, too.
Wasn't it El Niño a year ago, causing the La Conchita and Bluebird Canyon mudslides in SoCal? I thought it had a 4 or 7 year cycle, so it would be a surprise to have it again next year.
Althouth this year is a La Niña year, following last year's El Niño, and we have had less rain in SoCal during the past winter, apparently Mammoth has had record-breaking snowfall this year.
I think strong El Nino's suppress hurricanes, which would be nice.
Yeah. People who can't predict the weather 5 days from now are telling us to worry about el nino next year. Right. I'll keep my eyes peeled for it.
Excellent! I heard that he did. The truth needs to be promoted. To deny the truth is to deny our very history. The Earth has always warmed and cooled. It's what the "Big Guy" wants!
LLS
Sorry. I never listen to that pompous bag of wind. I believe that he has lost many more people to the conservative cause than he has gained.
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