3) source: NOAA News 10-15-09
5) Miller Chapter 5
6)National
7) Scientist predict that throughout the months of December, January, and February, El Nino will strongly impact the weather patterns throughout the United States. This expectation was released in the 2009 Winter Outlook by the NOAA's Climate Protection Center. They predicted that there will be warmer-than-usual temperatures in the north central area and below average temperatures in the southeast and mid-Atlantic regions. As for precipitation, there will be above average precipitation in the southern border states and drier conditions in the pacific northwest. Mike Halpert, deputy director of the Climate Protection Center, said "Warmer ocean water in the equatorial Pacific shifts the patterns of tropical rainfall that in turn change the strength and position of the jet stream and storms over the Pacific Ocean and the U.S."
8) I think it is very interesting to see what the Climate Protection Center predicts our winter to be like. When I first learned about El Nino I did not think that it could have such a profound impact on the temperature and precipitation of the entire country. I am interested to see if their predictions are correct and if El Nino will really have such a strong influence on each region in the US.
9) El Nino: A warming of the ocean surface off the western coast of South America that occurs every 4 to 12 years when upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water does not occur. It causes die-offs of plankton and fish and affects Pacific jet stream winds, altering storm tracks and creating unusual weather patterns in various parts of the world.
NOAA:an agency in the Department of Commerce that maps the oceans and conserves their living resources; predicts changes to the earth's environment; provides weather reports and forecasts floods and hurricanes and other natural disasters related to weather
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