La Nia (/lninj/, Spanish pronunciation: [la nia]) is a coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon

that is the counterpart of El Nio as part of the broader El NioSouthern Oscillation climate pattern.
The name La Nia originates from Spanish, meaning "the girl", analogous to El Nio meaning "the
boy". It has also in the past been called anti-El Nio, and El Viejo (meaning "the old man").[1] During
a period of La Nia, the sea surface temperature across the equatorial Eastern CentralPacific
Ocean will be lower than normal by 35 C. In the United States, an appearance of La Nia happens
for at least five months of La Nia conditions. It has extensive effects on the weather in North
America, even affecting the Atlantic Hurricane Season. A La Nia often, though not always, follows
an El Nio. La Nia is the positive phase of the El Nio Southern Oscillation and is associated with
cooler than average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific
Ocean.[2] However, each country and island nation has a different threshold for what constitutes a La
Nia event, which is tailored to their specific interests.[3] For example, the Australian Bureau of
Meteorology looks at the trade winds, SOI, weather models and sea surface temperatures in the
Nino 3 and 3.4 regions before declaring that a La Nia event has started.[4] However, the Japan
Meteorological Agency declares that a La Nia event has started when the average 5 month sea
surface temperature deviation for the NINO.3 region, is over 0.5 C (35 F) warmer for 6 consecutive
months or longer.

El Nio is a climate cycle in the Pacific Ocean with a global impact on weather patterns.

The cycle begins when warm water in the western tropical Pacific Ocean shifts
eastward along the equator toward the coast of South America. Normally, this warm
water pools near Indonesia and the Philippines. During an El Nio, the Pacific's
warmest surface waters sit offshore of northwestern South America.

Forecasters declare an official El Nio when they see both ocean temperatures and
rainfall from storms veer to the east. Experts also look for prevailing trade winds to
weaken and even reverse direction during the El Nio climate phenomenon. These
changes set up a feedback loop between the atmosphere and the ocean that boosts El
Nio conditions. The El Nio forecast for 2015 is expected to be one of the strongest on
record, according to Mike Halpert, the deputy director of the Climate Prediction Center,
part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.