El Niño
noun
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Each year around Christmas time, a warm equatorial current flows southward along the coast of Peru. In the 19th century, Peruvian fisherman named that annual current "El Niño" in honor of the Christ child (el niño means "the child" in Spanish). Later, when scientists noted that in some years this warm current flow is more intense than usual, they adopted the name and applied it to that more potent but erratic climatic phenomenon. Now El Niño is used almost exclusively for the severe episodes rather than for the annual ones to which it was originally applied.
Examples of El Niño in a Sentence
Laura Schulte, Journal Sentinel, 29 Mar. 2024
While the latter could be good for keeping wildfires in check in the spring and summer, the warmer winters (particularly in conjunction with the current El Nino event) are contributing to drought conditions.
—David Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 14 Mar. 2024
Climate change, El Nino conspire to fuel storms Multiple weather and climate phenomena are conspiring to make these storms particularly damaging.
—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 6 Feb. 2024
Strong El Nino conditions in the waters of the Pacific Ocean, and other ocean conditions in both the Pacific and the Atlantic, influenced the upper atmosphere across North America.
—Keith Matheny, Detroit Free Press, 6 Mar. 2024
Another strong El Nino also brought warm weather to the Upper Peninsula in 1998, Michels said.
—Jennifer Dixon, Detroit Free Press, 28 Feb. 2024
It’s linked to a wet winter from a strong El Nino — a natural and occasional warming of part of the Pacific Ocean that can lead to more precipitation than usual in California — plus climate change, which brings more intense atmospheric rivers to the area more frequently, Yu said.
—Ty O'Neil, Fortune, 24 Feb. 2024
Additionally, the Pacific Ocean is also seeing the effects of El Nino, where weakening trade winds reduce the upwelling of ocean waters and allow surface waters to bake in the sun and grow warmer still.
—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 6 Feb. 2024
Meteorologists have attributed Wisconsin’s record-warm winter conditions this year to El Nino, a short-term weather pattern, and the longer-term effects of climate change.
—Rick Barrett, Journal Sentinel, 31 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'El Niño.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near El Niño
Cite this Entry
“El Niño.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/El%20Ni%C3%B1o. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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El Niño
noun
Spanish, "the child" (referring to the Christ child); from the appearance of the flow at the Christmas season
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