One of the most talked about items of weather in the last 25 to 30 years for the general public is a phenomena known as El-Nino, and as a result of this popularity (and some of the misunderstanding that come along with it) I decided that I would look at some of the details of the El Nino occurrence of 1982-83 (click here for an aminated image of the changes in the sea surface temperatures during this time provided courtesy of the Earth Systems Research Laboratory).

What I hope to focus on and explain is what happens to the various oceanic and atmospheric components when El Nino occurs and how they ultimately affect the weather in the Western and southern United States.

Some of the items I will be covering here are:

	The abnormal sea surface temperatures in the eastern Pacific ocean for the period from October 1, 1982 until February 28, 1983.
	The changes in depth of the thermocline for a point on the equator at 95 degrees West longitude for the period from October 1, 1982 until February 28, 1983.
	How these changes above affected the Walker Circulation (note the preceding link is an external link to the on-line AMS Glossary) for the period from October 1, 1982 until February 28, 1983.
	How the El Nino affected the position and strength of the Subtropical Jet stream for the period from October 1, 1982 until February 28, 1983.
	How the El Nino affected temperatures and precipitation amounts over California and the Gulf Coast States for the period from October 1, 1982 until February 28, 1983.
	How the preceding temperature and precipitation changes affected the amounts of Outgoing Long-wave Radiation (OLR) over California and the Gulf Coast States for the period from December 1, 1982 until February 28, 1983.
	Why is this particular subject interesting to me and what have I learned from researching this interesting and very relevant topic.

To view each section above click on the button to the left.