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HOME > El Niño/La Niña > The ENSO Cycle > El Niño Temperature and Precipitation Patterns
 
 
El Niño-Related Patterns

In the Tropics, El Niņo episodes are associated with increased rainfall across the east-central and eastern Pacific and with drier than normal conditions over northern Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Elsewhere, wetter than normal conditions tend to be observed 1) during December-February (DJF) along coastal Ecuador, northwestern Peru, southern Brazil, central Argentina, and equatorial eastern Africa, and 2) during June-August (JJA) in the intermountain regions of the United States and over central Chile. Drier than normal conditions generally observed over northern South America, Central America and southern Africa during DJF, and over eastern Australia during JJA. El Niņo episodes also contribute to large-scale temperature departures throughout the world, with most of the affected regions experiencing abnormally warm conditions during December-February. Some of the most prominent temperature departures include: 1) warmer than normal conditions during December-February across southeastern Asia, southeastern Africa, Japan, southern Alaska and western/central Canada, southeastern Brazil and southeastern Australia; 2) warmer than normal conditions during June-August along the west coast of South America and across southeastern Brazil; and 3) cooler than normal conditions during December-February along the Gulf coast of the United States.

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