News & Features

The disruptions of tropical Pacific sea surface temperature and rainfall that occur during the climate pattern called "ENSO" trigger a cascade of global side effects. These maps show how El Niño and La Niña affect seasonal climate around the world.

When deciding if a snow event qualifies as a federal disaster, FEMA considers, among other things, how the event compares to previous snowstorms in the historical record. After spending a week going through those records, NECI's Deke Arndt talks about why snow can be the most difficult kid in the climate schoolroom. 

Everything you need to know about El Niño is now available in one place on Climate.gov.

Rains arrived in California during January 2016, but the drought remains.

Free to good home! NOAA Climate.gov provides hundreds of images and maps that are free for re-use. This page gathers up links to our most popular El Niño and La Niña images.  

As they were in December, waters across the tropical Pacific Ocean continued to be much warmer than average in January 2016, suggesting* that El Niño still had a grip on the basin. This image shows sa ...

How likely is a La Niña the year after an El Niño, and in particular after a strong one like this year's? IRI's Tony Barnston analyzes the history of ENSO behavior since 1950 for a possible answer. 

The drought of the 1950s was among the most widespread, severe and sustained ever experienced in the United States, exceeding that of the 1930s "Dust Bowl" in several states. Specifically, the 1950s . ...

Did you watch the weather forecast today? Do you ever wonder where meteorologists get the information that helps them predict the weather? Every day, ships, buoys, and coastal platforms take ... ...

According to NOAA’s Regional Snowfall Index, the January 22–24, 2016, snowstorm ranked as a Category 5 —“crippling”—event for both the Northeast and Southeast.