Scripps Institution of Oceanography


The El Niño of 1997/98

Pictures of how the El Niño of 1997/98 evolved


These are pictures we've generated from observed data -- not from our prediction model -- of how the El Niño of 1997/98 is evolving.

Click on the thumbnail for a larger picture and more descriptive text.

January, 1997
In January of 1997, surface temperatures were still cold in the Eastern Pacific (off Peru), but warm waters at depth were hinting of the El Niño to come.

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February, 1997
By February of 1997, the warm water anomaly below the surface had spread almost to Peru, but temperatures at the surface were still near normal.

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April, 1997
In April of 1997, something interesting happens. Interactions between the atmosphere and ocean -- the process that makes an El Niño grow -- generate a surface warm anomaly in the middle of the Pacific. It quickly connects with the warm anomaly below.

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May, 1997
It's May of 1997, and hold on to your hats, folks! The warm water near the dateline has started to expand to the East, and the warm anomaly off the coast of Peru has reached the surface and is spreading to the West. It looks like it's going to be a big one.

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September, 1997
By September of 1997, unusually warm waters stretch from the coast of Peru to the dateline -- that's a quarter of the way around the planet!

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January, 1998
In January of 1998, the El Niño is fully underway. The cold anomaly in the subsurface western Pacific has also expanded towards the east; this may be an early sign of an upcoming cold-water event ("La Niña").

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March, 1998
By March of 1998, the volume of unusually warm water has started to shrink noticably. The cold anomaly in the subsurface western Pacific continues to expand towards the east.

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May, 1998
By May of 1998, the warm water has all but disappeared, and the El Nino of 1997/1998 is over. The region of unusually cold water, underneath the surface, continues to expand towards the east.

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El Niño Forecast Page


Last modified: 10 June 1998
Contact: dpierce@ucsd.edu
Copyright © 2000 David W. Pierce. All rights reserved.