What Is a La Nina Winter? (And How to Prepare for It)

The Pacific Ocean covers more than 30% of the surface of Earth, and it is from this vast ocean that the weather event known as La Nina comes.

La Nina is a term for a weather pattern that is irregular and often lasts for a year or more. What La Nina does to the weather differs depending on whether you are north or south of the equator. In the north, it means a colder, La Nina winter, and an enhanced hurricane season, while in the south it is milder.

Here’s what La Nina is, and how you can prepare for it.

What Causes a La Nina?

The name La Nina is given to a weather pattern that begins with colder than average water temperatures at the surface of the pacific ocean. When the eastern equatorial regions of the Pacific cool down, it triggers a La Nina. The change need only be between 5 and 9 degrees for La Nina to occur.

Once the water changes temperature, the entire global climate is impacted. The change alters the way air currents flow across the oceans, and where they are most intense. It also changes how cold air cycles down from the arctic.

La Nina vs. El Nino

You may have heard the term El Nino before, which is the opposite of a La Nina. El Nino is the warm water equivalent of a La Nina. They have opposite effects, with El Nino calming down hurricane season in the Atlantic, and creating a milder winter in the United States.

Neither lasts forever, as they both replace each other on a 3 to 7-year cycle. Both often last around a year, but the current La Nina has been active for almost two years. This is one reason why typhoons in the southern hemisphere haven’t been as severe in the past couple of seasons.

What Does La Nina Do?

La Nina has dramatic impacts on the weather all across the globe. Due to the cooler water, the wind shear in the Atlantic becomes less. This creates ideal conditions for warmer surface temperatures in the Atlantic.

Warmer surface temperatures which also increase hurricane growth.

For a large portion of the United States, especially in the southwest, it means dry conditions. This makes the existing drought even worse, and also makes wildfires a very real threat. For the entire country, it means that winter is going to be colder than usual.

Will La Nina Impact Me?

Yes, if you live in the United States you will feel the direct impact of La Nina weather. What it does to the weather where you live depends on where you’re at. Nowhere in the country is safe from the weather phenomenon, but there are areas that experience more difficulty due to La Nina.

The largest impacts are felt by those on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts as well as in the southwest of the country. In other parts of the country, the northern states, blizzard preparations will become more important. Some places in the northern midwest can experience higher than average rainfall and flooding.

If you live in one of these areas, the chances that you are going to experience severe weather is high. More than that, you can expect to spend more money on your heating bills this winter. The colder than average temperatures will put a strain on natural gas prices as well.

If you live on the Gulf coast, you need to know how to prepare for a storm. You may not need to worry about winter home preparations, but the hurricane season will hit hard. A La Nina winter will be preceded by a stronger than average hurricane season with over eight hurricanes on average.

How Can We Prepare?

If you live in the southwest of the United States, you can’t do much about the La Nina. The drought will continue or continue to get worse. But if you live in other areas of the country, preparation can save you a lot of time and money as the severe weather worsens.

You should always make standard hurricane preparations. These include having a plan to evacuate if necessary, as well as having vital supplies like extra drinking water. Depending on where you live, having a plan to deal with flood water is also important.

Make sure that you have hurricane shutters available for use as well. These can help protect not only the structural integrity of your home but also the interior. The last thing you want to do is come home to a house that has suffered wind and rain damage.

For those who have businesses on the coast, either Gulf or Atlantic, having a power generator is important. This can help keep your business from losing power. This is important for any business that needs to have equipment still operational.

In addition to having worse weather, businesses must prepare for the cleanup operations that occur after a hurricane. Proximity to flooding and water should also be taken into account. Prepare to face the full wrath of mother nature when La Nina is powering hurricane season.

Make sure that your business has a budget that can cover the troubles that come with La Nina. If you don’t, you could find yourself over budget and losing money. Even with proper preparations, you could find yourself losing equipment.

La Nina Winter

Swift Equipment Solutions has the equipment that you need to make sure that no matter what happens you can recover. If you have to replace equipment as part of your clean-up, we may already have what you need on hand and ready to go.

There’s no way to stop a La Nina winter from occurring, we can only prepare as best as possible. Part of that preparation is having the equipment on hand that you’ll need, or a way to replace it if necessary. If you need any industrial equipment, spares, or for your main line efforts, contact us.