2010–2012 La Niña event: Difference between revisions

The '''2010–12 La Niña''' was one of the strongest La Nina events on record. It caused [[Australia]] to experience its wettest September on record in 2010, and its second wettest year on record in 2010.<ref name="MyUser_Bom.gov.au_July_22_2015c">{{cite web |url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/feature/ENSO-feature.shtml |title=The 2010–11 La Niña: Australia soaked by one of the strongest events on record |newspaper=Bom.gov.au |date= |author= |accessdate= July 22, 2015}}</ref> It also led to an unusual intensification of the [[Leeuwin Current]].,<ref name="MyUser_Nature.com_July_22_2015c">{{cite web |url=http://www.nature.com/srep/2013/130214/srep01277/full/srep01277.html |title=La Niña forces unprecedented Leeuwin Current warming in 2011 : Scientific Reports : Nature Publishing Group |newspaper=Nature.com |date= |author= |accessdate= July 22, 2015}}</ref> the [[2010 Pakistan floods]], the [[2010–2011 Queensland floods]], and the [[2011 Horn of Africa drought]]. It also helped keep the average global temperature below recent trends, leading to 2011 tying with 1997 for the 14th warmest year on record.

During May 2009, the 2009-10 El Niño event started in the Pacific Ocean, before it reached its peak during December 2009.<ref name="BoM La Nina 10-12">{{cite report|title=Record-breaking La Niña events|accessdate=March 20, 2016|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/history/La-Nina-2010-12.pdf|publisher=Australian Bureau of Meteorology|date=July 2012|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6g8fSnxqM|archivedate=March 20, 2016|deadurl=no}}</ref><ref name="ENSO ONIs">{{cite web|title=Historical El Niño/La Niña episodes (1950–present)|date=4 November 2015|url=http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/ensostuff/ensoyears.shtml|publisher=United States Climate Prediction Center|accessdate=10 January 2015}}</ref> The El Nino event subsequently broke down during the first quarter of 2010, with the climate of the Pacific Ocean returning to neutral conditions, by the end of April 2010.<ref name="BoM La Nina 10-12"/><ref name="ENSO ONIs"/> By this time a number of climate models from several meteorological agencies, had started to suggest that a La Nina event could take place later in the year.<ref name="BoM La Nina 10-12"/> During May 2010 signals of a potential La Niña started to be observed over the tropical Pacific Ocean. As a result, a La Nina watch was issued by the United States [[Climate Prediction Center]], during their June 2010 ENSO diagnostic discussion.<ref>{{cite report|date=June 3, 2010|title=El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) diagnostic discussion: June 2010|archivedate=10 January 2016|url=http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_disc_jun2010/ensodisc.pdf|deadurl=no|format=PDF|publisher=United States Climate Prediction Center|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/6g8h9oiv1}}</ref> As the ocean's surface temperature cooling progressed, more colder anomalies appeared at the [[International Date Line]] rather than over eastern Pacific, what allowed calling this event as a ''[[La Niña#La Niña diversity|Modoki]]'' one.<ref name="Modoki">{{cite web | author1 = V. Platonov | author2 = E. Semenov | author3 = E. Sokolikhina | publisher = EGU General Assembly/Geophysical Research | title = Extreme La-Nina 2010/11 and the vigorous flood at the north-east of Australia | url = http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2012/EGU2012-313-2.pdf | date = 2014-02-13 | format = pdf | accessdate = 2014-10-15}}</ref>

Australia experienced its second- and third-wettest years, since a record of the rainfall started to kept during 1900.<ref name="BoM La Nina 10-12"/> 2009-10 was a dry winter for California, and meteorologists warned the abnormally dry conditions could occur in the next six months, but lots of rainfall from the La Nina helped the prevention of drought that would've been likely by the next winter. Because this was a La Niña Modoki, it brought California the wettest December on record and the summer of 2011 was California's fifth wettest. The pacific northwest saw 2011 being one of the coolest, wettest years on record, with temperatures still in the 50s and even rain/snow mix in May. The Midwest, Southeastern, and Northeastern United States also experienced an extremely wet 2011, leading to the 2011 Mississippi and Ohio river floods. Texas fell into major drought with 2010–12 being some of the driest years ever for the state, it's cattle