Comparing El Niños

The El Niño phenomenon has been around for quite some time already, with records dating back to 1567. The 1997-1998 El Niño event is one of the worst experienced, only the strength of the 1982-1983 El Niño ("the El Niño of the century") surpassing it. The following diagrams document the years, as well as the strength of the various El Niño years.

Standardized Departure vs. Month
© Klaus Wolter & Michael Timlin,
NOAA-CIRES Climate Diagnostics Center, University of Colorado at Boulder

Animated Comparison of 4 El Niño Events
Sea surface temperatures (SST) in the central & eastern equatorial pacific.
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Comparison of 4 El Niño Events
NOAA-CIRES Climate Diagnostics Center, University of Colorado at Boulder