El Niño, The Cause Of Bad Weather

        El Niño or "The Christ Child" called that because it occurs during Christmas. I'm discussing this because we are supposed to have one next year, and is predicted to cause a really bad tropical storm season. El Niño and  La Niña are what cause major weather all over the world even in Michigan.
        El Niño is classified as a high pressure system that warms the surface of the Pacific Ocean. El Niña is a low pressure system that cools the surface of the Pacific Ocean. The one to be most worried about is an El Niño because this is the system that causes really bad flooding, and sometimes even tropical storms. 
       The thing is these two high and low systems are off the west coast of South America, and they effect our entire planet. The picture on the right explains how a  El Niño works the surface water warms, and goes east due to ocean currents, and causes the ocean to be warm. This warm ocean causes rain which causes drought in dry areas of the world, and less in other more rain prone areas of the world. This is a phenomena that no one really understands. Some people blame this on global warming, and some believe its just a way of the earth trying to regulate itself. I guess it's up to you to decide.