The 2009-2010 El Nino: Hydrologic relief to U.S. regions

Authors

Glenn A. Tootle, University of Tennessee - KnoxvilleFollow
Thomas C. Piechota, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Oubeidillah Aziz, University of Tennessee - KnoxvilleFollow
William Paul Miller, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Venkat Lakshmi, University of South Carolina - ColumbiaFollow
John A. Dracup, University of California - BerkeleyFollow
Carly Jerla, Lower Colorado Regional Office, Bureau of Reclamation

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-15-2009

Publication Title

EOS Transactions

Volume

90

Issue

50

First page number:

481

Last page number:

483

Abstract

Current forecasts by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are that the Pacific Ocean will experience El Niño conditions in late 2009 and into 2010. These forecasts are similar to past El Niño events in 1972–1973, 1982–1983, 1986–1987, and 2002–2003.

Evaluating the hydrologic conditions for these past El Niño events reveals that during these times, surface water supply conditions improved in many parts of the United States, including the Southeast, Midwest, and Southwest. At the same time, the Pacific Northwest and other specific regions of the United States experienced below-average water supply conditions. This is consistent with the long-established linkages between oceanic-atmospheric phenomena, El Niño, and streamflow [e.g., Kahya and Dracup, 1993; Tootle et al., 2005].

Keywords

El Niño Current; Long-range weather forecasting; Ocean temperature; Water-supply – Forecasting

Disciplines

Climate | Environmental Sciences | Meteorology | Oceanography | Water Resource Management

Language

English

Repository Citation

Tootle, G. A., Piechota, T. C., Aziz, O., Miller, W. P., Lakshmi, V., Dracup, J. A., Jerla, C. (2009). The 2009-2010 El Nino: Hydrologic relief to U.S. regions. EOS Transactions, 90(50), 481-483.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2009EO500002