Unless you’ve been sleeping your Winter Break away, you know about the freak weather we’ve been having. 70 degrees in December? Insane, I know, right? The last time it was this warm in December was in 1984. Yikes.
The high temperatures were thanks to El Nino, a global weather pattern that occurs in the Pacific Ocean. El Nino has a reputation for bringing mild winters to the northern states and warm, wet ones to the southern states. El Nino is typically known for appearing around Christmastime and lasting for several months. There have even been times where El Nino has lasted into May and even June! Let’s hope that doesn’t happen here!
The term ‘El Nino’ was first used by fishermen along Ecuador and Peru and means ‘The Christ Child’ in Spanish. El Nino happens when the tropical trade winds in the Pacific ocean die out and the ocean temperatures become warmer. Fish are less abundant during these warm spells, so the fishermen would take breaks over this period of time to repair their boats and spend time with their families. Over time, this weather pattern has become known for the extremely strong warm intervals that disrupt the normal lives of fishermen, by bringing heavy rains and hot weather.
There is a flip side to El Nino called La Nina, which occurs when the trade winds blow unusually hard and the sea temperatures become colder than normal.
The only downside to all the warm weather in December is that meteorologists expect the cold weather to last until early March. So you’ll need to break out those winter coats because winter is headed to Brenau. With the cold weather staying until March, it also means that our spring will be shorter than normal.