El Nino In the Pacific!

El Nino in the Pacific

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has announced that El Nino has formed in the Pacific Ocean and will last until year 2007.

What is El Nino? El Nino, which means "little boy" in Spanish, is an extreme warming of equatorial waters in the Pacific Ocean that wreaks havoc with world weather conditions. It usually hits about once every three years.

You may wonder why hurricane season hasn't been nearly as bad as everyone had been expecting-- thank El Nino. It will also will spur warmer-than-average temperatures this winter over western and central Canada and the western and northern United States.It said El Nino also will cause wetter-than-average conditions in the U.S. Gulf Coast and Florida, and spark dry conditions in the Ohio valley, the Pacific Northwest and most U.S. islands in the tropical Pacific.

Although, you may not be thanking it for long. The last severe El Nino killed hundreds of people in Asia and South America, and it caused millions of dollars in damage. This El Nino has caused drier-than-average climate across Indonesia, Malaysia, and most of the Phillipines, causing crops to fail.

This will affect our nation's economy greatly. Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country with over 200 million people, while nearly 90 million live in the Philippines. Both are major importers of U.S. grains and wheat. Both the crops failing and people dying will affect us. The food supply and food production to people all over the world will be affected. If there is less of a supply of grains, the demand for grains will grow, and prices will become higher. People of America may also have to eat less grain-products.

While the current El Nino is mild, it may grow more severe towards the winter. The phenomenom usually peaks in December. As for now:huricanes will be hindered. Also, the U.S. Northeast, the top heating oil market in the world, is in for a milder winter. Taking it's effects on our ecnomy even further, a more mild winter will put a damper on work for townsworkers with plowing roads. The winter will also call for less road salt, and hopefully less automobile accidents.

While we can estimate the future effects of El Nino, only time can tell for sure. As for right now, enjoy the lack of natural disasters and hope for a good winter.