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La Nina Rainfall Patterns

La Niña, the counterpart to El Niño, alters rainfall patterns over the Pacific and Indian Ocean basins. La Niña develops when stronger-than-average trade winds push the warm surface waters of the equatorial Pacific west. Since cold water rises to replace the warm water, La Niña leaves the eastern and central Pacific Ocean much cooler than normal, while the western Pacific is much warmer than normal. These anomalies in sea surface temperature are mirrored in rainfall patterns, with warmer-than-normal temperatures resulting in enhanced rainfall. In general, La Niña brings unusually heavy rain to the West Pacific, Indonesia, parts of Southeast Asia, and northern Australia.


NASA image courtesy Jesse Allen based on data provided by the TRMM team. Caption by Steve Lang and Holli Riebeek (SSAI/NASA GSFC).

Published January 23, 2008
Data acquired December 19, 2007 - January 18, 2008

Source:
TRMM > MPA