Listening practice: The ocean pattern that can change a winter

Today, listen for a story that begins far from most classrooms, in a long band of water across the tropical Pacific Ocean. According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, El Nino conditions were present on the eleventh of June, twenty twenty-six, and forecasters expected them to strengthen into the Northern Hemisphere winter. The latest weekly Nino three point four index was about zero point seven degrees Celsius above average. That number may sound small, but it matters because the ocean and the atmosphere are connected. When a wide area of tropical water becomes warmer than usual, it can change winds, clouds, rainfall, and even the path of winter storms.