La Niña

[ lah nee-nyah ]

noun

1. a cool ocean current that develops off the coast of Ecuador and Peru, sometimes following an El Niño but causing nearly the opposite extreme weather conditions.

La Niña

/ læ ˈniːnjə /

noun

1. meteorol a cooling of the eastern tropical Pacific, occurring in certain years

La Niña

/ länēn′yä /

1. A cooling of the surface water of the eastern and central Pacific Ocean, occurring somewhat less frequently than El Niño events but causing similar, generally opposite disruptions to global weather patterns. La Niña conditions occur when the Pacific trade winds blow more strongly than usual, pushing the sun-warmed surface water farther west and increasing the upwelling of cold water in the eastern regions. Together with the atmospheric effects of the related southern oscillation , the cooler water brings drought to western South America and heavy rains to eastern Australia and Indonesia.
2. Compare El Niño

Word History and Origins

Origin of La Niña¹

First recorded in 1985–90; from Spanish: literally, “the female child”; patterned after El Niño ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of La Niña¹

C20: from Spanish: The Little Girl, to distinguish it from El Niño

Example Sentences

One of the only long-term predictive measures that forecasters can use, the El Niño-Southern Oscillation cycle, or ENSO, remains in neutral, meaning that the Pacific Ocean isn’t currently in either a La Niña or El Niño cycle.

From Los Angeles Times

La Niña years typically favor drier conditions for the southwestern U.S.

From Los Angeles Times

La Niña seasons typically produce large numbers of atmospheric rivers, or narrow bands of concentrated water vapor in the sky that act like rivers in the sky.

From Salon

This particular storm was exacerbated by the fact that it occurred as we enter the La Niña cycle, or a period in the ocean’s natural cycles when temperatures cool in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific region.

From Salon

Many scientists expect the opposite, cooler phase, La Niña, to develop soon.

From BBC