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.
|
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.
Click picture for more text
|
|
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.
Click picture for more text
|
|
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.
Click picture for more text
|
|
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.
Click picture for more text
|
|
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!
Click picture for more text
|
|
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").
Click picture for more text
|
|
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.
Click picture for more text
|
|
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.
Click picture for more text
|
El Niño Forecast Page
Last modified: 10 June 1998
Contact: dpierce@ucsd.edu
Copyright © 2000 David W. Pierce. All rights reserved.