El Niño and La Niña are disruptions of the ocean-atmosphere system in the tropical Pacific that have important consequences for weather around the globe. A major goal of science in the middle grades, according to the National Science Education Standards, is for students to develop an understanding of earth’s oceans and the effect they have on climate. Investigating the global effects of La Niña and El Niño will help students understand this relationship.

Today’s El Niño/La Niña Information
Daily updates on the tropical Pacific as well as links to news articles and more.

El Niño—Southern Oscillation
This Wikipedia entry provides background information on El Niño and La Niña.

The Return of El Niño
This site describes El Niño’s effects on the oceans, climate, and ocean life. It includes a data activity in which students track some of the common climate changes caused by El Niño, paying close attention to wintertime changes such as temperature, precipitation, and incidence of hurricanes.

Eye on the Ocean
This site describes how the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s TOPEX/Poseidon satellite was used to monitor sea level changes in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and the amount of heat stored in the water. Sea level and temperature data were used to successfully predict the 1997-98 El Niño event earlier than ever before.

Howling for Snow
Visitors to this site can view satellite imagery and read articles about on a recent La Niña event, which produced less-than-normal snowfalls in western North America. A discussion of the uncertainties of long-range climate prediction and links to related sites are included.

We Need Your Help

We want and need your ideas, suggestions, and observations. What would you like to know more about? What questions have your students asked? We invite you to share with us and other readers by posting your comments. Please check back often for our newest posts or download the RSS feed for this blog. Let us know what you think and tell us how we can serve you better. We appreciate your feedback on all of our Middle School Portal 2 publications. You can also email us at msp@msteacher.org. This post was updated 3/27/2012.