What happens when trade winds do not blow?
Most years trade winds blow steadily from South America and west across the Pacific pushing surface coastal waters westward. This creates an upswelling of cool water. When the trade winds do not blow, the waters warm up. This warm water gradually spreads partway across the Pacific and as far north as California and Washington. Vast changes in the global circulation of air masses result and strange weather is experienced around the world. This phenomenon is called El Nino and it happens irregularly sometimes two or as many as ten years apart.’) 14. Where does the energy come from that stirs up our atmosphere? It comes from the Sun whose radiated sunlight passes through the atmosphere and heats up land and oceans, rivers, forests and fields. The warmed land and water radiates some of the heat, back up into the air resulting in a warming of the air that is close to the ground or water. The warmed air rises and cooler air sinks down to take its place. This rising of warm air and sinking of
