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El Nino Has Finally Arrived, Far Weaker Than Predicted

An anonymous reader writes "The periodic warm weather pattern called El Niño has finally arrived in the mid-equatorial Pacific Ocean, more than a year late and far weaker than predicted by scientists. "The announcement comes a year after forecasters first predicted that a major El Niño could be in the works. At the time, NOAA predicted a 50% chance that an El Niño could develop in the latter half of 2014. The agency also said the wind patterns that were driving water east across the Pacific were similar to those that occurred in the months leading up to the epic El Niño of 1997, which caught scientists by surprise and contributed to flooding, droughts and fires across multiple continents.

In the end, last year's forecasts came up short, in part because the winds that were driving the system petered out. Researchers, who have been working to improve their forecasting models since 1997, are trying to figure out precisely what happened last year and why their models failed to capture it."

5 of 235 comments (clear)

  1. Re:But, our climate models are perfectly accurate by sjames · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Weather != climate.

    If you flip a coin and get heads twice in a row, do you claim statistics is bunk?

  2. 50% wrong or 50% right? by rmpotter · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "NOAA predicted a 50% chance that an El Niño could develop in the latter half of 2014"

    With odds like that, how could they be wrong?

    --
    Is this sig nificant?
  3. Re:But, our climate models are perfectly accurate by sjames · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Nice try, but 15 years of weather statistics is climate. One winter is not. The science has been fairly consistent, only the specifics seem up for grabs.

    You might also want to note that El Nino isn't itself part of climate change.

    And I wouldn't crow too much about the name change. The term 'global warning' has mostly fallen out of favor due to idiots thinking a slightly chilly morning in the middle of winter meant it couldn't be real.

  4. Re:Awesome Models by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The best scientists on earth can't tell you how a particular molecule in a balloon will move over the next second, but any kindergartner can tell you what will happen if you keep pumping more and more air into it.

  5. Re:Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) by itzly · · Score: 2, Insightful

    because in the grand scheme of things man has little or nothing to do with squat. Long after we are gone, the sun will change phases, engulf this planet for real global warming and then the universe will die a heat death

    Using that perspective, why not rob a bank today ?