Strong El Niño: Spring and Summer Surfing Conditions?
Spring is the time when the temperature difference is greatest between Antarctica and the equator, resulting in the strongest pressure gradient and thus the windiest season. A strong El Niño rides on the back of this, and results in stronger westerly quarter winds prevailing over Aotearoa.
Let’s break this down into the different surf zones of Aotearoa, and how this strong El Niño affects your local surf spots.
El Niño and La Niña
ENSO is short for El Niño-Southern Oscillation. It is a climate oscillation, or a long term see-saw in atmospheric and ocean conditions across the Pacific Ocean. There are three phases of ENSO: El Niño, La Niña, and Neutral. Each phase brings a change to the winds, sea surface temperatures, and rainfall across the globe and here in Aotearoa New Zealand.