el nino

[ORELLANA BORGES . ANDRES MIGUEL]

Andrea Knebel wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> everybody is talking about the el nino effect of this year but I just
> saw a documentary on TV that said they did not have any signs of an
> el nino at the coast of South America. At the beginning of February,
> they travelled along the west coast and the pictures they showed were
> pretty normal weather: no inland rain, still a lot of pelicans and
> other birds which means there is enough fish which is a sign of
> enough nutrients, and .... .
>
> They also talked to local fisherman and they also could not see a
> decline in the amount of fish they catch.
>
> The also said that it is weird why there are no signs because the
> metreologists measured this up heating of the pacific in December but
> nothing else happened.
>
> How much the el nino effects our world climate is also not really
> known, I guess. Is it really unusually warm in the US this year? Or
> do we just feel like it is?
>
> About Germany, I can say that this year the winter is mild and the
> last winters were much colder but that happens often  and so must not
> be in connection with el nino.
>
> Any ideas or comments? Any metereologists out there?
>
> Andrea Knebel
> Biologist at
>
> University of Bielefeld
> Germany


In the noeth coast of south America, we have a severe dry spell that
started in September, normaly starting in late December. Only when the
cold front arrived from the north last week had we rain for four days.
Many of our wet forests are dry, even in the south of Venezuela (anyone
there in non venezuelan Amazonia to tell us the condition?). Lots of
smoke everywhere too!
Butterflies reapeared since the cold front arrival (specially pierids
and papilionids) but it seems that the dry spell will continue (as it is
normal during this time of the year).

Andres Orellana