Is the Pacific Ocean in a La NADA Weather Holding Pattern ?

Personally I've never heard of this weather event or title before. Everything I ever thought I knew about So-Cal weather was either El Nino or La Nina. Now there is a neutral pattern where nothing particularly exciting happens called La Nada !

Illustration Animation Credit: NASA

Tenth Month of Pacific's 'La Nada' Limbo

"The latest image of the sea surface heights in the PacificOcean from NASA's Jason-1 Satellite shows that the equatorial Pacific Ocean is now in it's 10th month of being locked in what  some call a neutral, or "La Nada" state. "La Nada" make long-range climate forecasting more difficult due to their greater unpredictability. Yellows and reds indicate areas where waters are relatively warmer and have expanded above normal sea level, while blues and purple areas show where waters are relatively colder and sea level is lower than normal. Green indicates near-normal sea level conditions."

Remember those large dark Oranges, Reds and Yellows in the Eastern Pacific  meant El Nino or if in the western Pacific it meant La Nina ? Well now there is La Nada and it loves purples and blues mostly everywhere across the board. Some of the science research lately has come out with so many kool things and I have to be honest and say, often times they are so focused on one specific aspect of what they are reporting on that they clearly miss the bigger picture. Many of the things I've personally believed in for some years now as far as weather and climate mechanisms are only now getting attention. Unfortunately it often looks like some findings are too late for any benefit of turning things around in some areas. Why do things have to break down out in nature before they even attempt to dig and scratch and eventually discover some amazing phenomena that was right there in front of their eyes all along. I've got a hoard of posts on some of the long gone forested areas which no longer exist up and around Anza California as a result of several micro-climate changes created by stupid ignorant human interference and manipulation of the environment. What I need to finish many of these are the things I've seen years ago, but never photographed, or if i did, they are buried in boxes somewhere in storage. Either way it'll be fun and interesting. The challenge and mechanics of rebuilding ecosystems - (at least those I'm familiar with) - are fascinating to me. But I have to say that though there are certainly variables with regards differing systems, the basic fundamentals apply. Anyway, back to La Nada!

Photo Credit - NASAThe height of the water relates, in part, to its temperature, and thus is an indicator of the amount of heat stored in the ocean below. As the ocean warms, its level rises; as it cools, its level falls. Yellow and red areas indicate where the waters are relatively warmer and have expanded above normal sea level, while green (which dominates in this image) indicates near-normal sea level, and blue and purple areas show where the waters are relatively colder and sea level is lower than normal. Above-normal height variations along the equatorial Pacific indicate El Niño conditions, while below-normal height variations indicate La Niña conditions. The temperature of the upper ocean can have a significant influence on weather patterns and climate. 

For those interested in the rest of the "La Nada" story, here is the NASA link:

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/earth20130206.html


























BBB