La Niña
noun
La Ni·ña
lä-ˈnē-nyə 
-nyä
-nyä
plural La Niñas
: an irregularly recurring upwelling of unusually cold water to the ocean surface along the western coast of South America that often occurs following an El Niño and that disrupts typical regional and global weather patterns especially in a manner opposite to that of El Niño
Examples of La Niña in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Typical El Nino impacts across the United States Impacts from El Nino, similar to La Nina, tend to be most consistent and pronounced from late autumn through early spring following the event’s onset, NOAA says.
—
Daniel Peck, ABC News, 11 June 2026
The atmospheric reactions to El Nino and La Nina have changed and the Sierra snowpack is running at historically low levels.
—Greg Porter, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Mar. 2026
The system was rooted in a Mexican mythology known as La Nina de las Flores (The Flower Girl), where Luz kills her victims in a ritual order.
—Demetrius Patterson, HollywoodReporter, 18 Mar. 2026
It was also compounded by the current La Nina weather phenomenon which naturally brings wetter conditions in the southern Africa region but was now operating within a much warmer atmosphere.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 29 Jan. 2026
Usually a warm El Nino spikes temperatures and its cool La Nina flip side depresses temperatures.
—Dallas Morning News, 14 Jan. 2026
As for La Nina, this is the cool phase of a natural, recurring climate cycle known as the El Nino-Southern Oscillation.
—Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Nov. 2025
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Daniel Peck, ABC News, 11 June 2026
The atmospheric reactions to El Nino and La Nina have changed and the Sierra snowpack is running at historically low levels.
—Greg Porter, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Mar. 2026
The system was rooted in a Mexican mythology known as La Nina de las Flores (The Flower Girl), where Luz kills her victims in a ritual order.
—Demetrius Patterson, HollywoodReporter, 18 Mar. 2026
It was also compounded by the current La Nina weather phenomenon which naturally brings wetter conditions in the southern Africa region but was now operating within a much warmer atmosphere.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 29 Jan. 2026
Usually a warm El Nino spikes temperatures and its cool La Nina flip side depresses temperatures.
—Dallas Morning News, 14 Jan. 2026
As for La Nina, this is the cool phase of a natural, recurring climate cycle known as the El Nino-Southern Oscillation.
—Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“La Niña.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/La%20Ni%C3%B1a. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
La Niña
noun
La Ni·ña
lä-ˈnē-nyə
-nyä
-nyä
: an irregularly occurring movement of deep cold water to the ocean surface along the western coast of South America that often occurs after an El Niño and that disrupts weather patterns especially in a manner opposite that of an El Niño
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