Scripps Institution scientists tracking chance of El Niño

Sea surface temperature anomalies showing the 1998 El Nino event (Credit: NASA)

Researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography are keeping tabs on the likelihood of an El Niño winter in 2014, according to a release.

The weather phenomenon is associated with a host of impacts nationwide, namely greater precipitation in the western U.S. In the Eastern Pacific Ocean, El Niño has been found to enhance the encroachment of storm surges by raising sea levels for several months at a time.

Scripps scientists are tracking the weather pattern using a host of monitoring tech, including autonomous underwater gliders, buoys from regional observing systems and satellite instruments.

Image: Sea surface temperature anomalies showing the 1998 El Nino event (Credit: NASA)