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What A Winter!

The Ewen family awoke last Tuesday to a scary sight: a nearby creek was spilling over its banks. Soon the rising waters surrounded their Guerneville, California, home. The Ewens escaped by wading through knee-deep water.

"I didn't expect it to come up that fast," says Melissa Ewen. The last time she and her children saw their house, it was nearly covered with water. "Everything we own was in there--photos that can't be replaced."

Last week strong winter storms slammed much of the U.S., flooding streets and homes on both coasts and dumping snow in the mountains. While bad weather often hits at this time of year, a change in climate patterns called El Niño made these storms even more dangerous than usual.

El Niño is causing strange weather all over the world. Says James Baker of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: "This is the weather event of the century."

Storms From Sea To Sea
California and Florida are usually popular destinations for families during the cold winter months. But last week both states looked more like disaster areas than sunny vacation spots.

Heavy rain began to pound California on February 1. The rain triggered flash floods and mudslides, which destroyed many homes. Forty-foot waves crashed over beaches, smashing boats and piers. Fierce winds knocked out power to thousands of families. To many West Coast residents, it felt as if their towns were being bombed.

"The forecast is easy," meteorologist Diana Henderson told Californians. "Rain. Lots and lots of rain."

At the same time, thunderstorms and tornadoes roared across Florida, tossing around trees, roofs and even small parked planes. Winds gusted to 100 miles an hour.

Snow, rain and wind battered much of the East Coast as the storms moved north. A slushy mix of snow and mud made it difficult to restore power in West Virginia. "It's like slime out there," said worker Bobby Shiflett. "You just can't move."

El Niño Stirs Up Trouble
Much of this wild weather was predicted last year by scientists who study El Niño. El Niño is a natural shift in the way winds and ocean currents travel across the Pacific Ocean. It happens every few years. (See Wacky Weather 9/26/97.)

El Niño turns the world's weather topsy-turvy. Some countries that usually receive a lot of rainfall may suffer from droughts, while heavy rains and flooding often surprise other areas. This season's El Niño is the most powerful of the century.

"We get big storms on the West Coast every year," says Andy Edman of the National Weather Service. "But because we have a strong El Niño, storms are coming in stronger." They are also arriving more often than usual and on different paths.

El Niño affects more than weather. It warms up large bands of water in the Pacific Ocean, and this confuses many living things. Tropical fish and birds travel too far north. Sea lions in California are starving because the fish they eat have swum south.

Scientists are very interested in the El Niño of 1997-98. It gives them a chance to better understand how El Niños work. "Each El Niño is different," explains Stephanie Kinitzer of the National Weather Service.

What Will Spring Bring?
El Niño was at its strongest in December, but much of the world will feel its effects for months to come. "There are going to be major El Niño impacts into the springtime," says Ants Leetmaa, director of the Climate Prediction Center.

That means much of the northern U.S. will likely be warmer and dryer than usual. But El Niño has plenty of trouble in store for the West Coast and Southern states. California was just beginning to dry out last week when forecasters saw more storms racing across the Pacific toward the Sunshine State.

"This is going to get a lot worse before it gets better," says forecaster Dan Keirns. "We're going to get thumped good."

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