Where Did El Niño Get Its Name?
The phenomenon called El Niño is an irregular weather pattern where water surface temperatures rise in the Pacific to be warmer than is typical. The water is pushed toward the American West Coast, causing the northern U.S. to be dryer and warmer than normal, while the southern U.S. ends up
wetter and more prone to flooding. These details fascinate climatologists, but there’s something else of interest for curious etymologists. El Niño was initially the name of a similar, albeit more consistent weather pattern than the erratic system we know today. In the 1600s, South American fishermen began noticing that each...
