1. What occurs during a major El Niño event? How might this affect global wind and precipitation patterns? During a major El Nino event, there is extensive ocean warming that occurs over the tropical Pacific. “The easterly trades may actually become westerly winds” (Ahrens, 2015, p. 214). These winds then push in an easterly direction and drag surface water along with them. This results in rising sea levels in the east Pacific and lower sea level in the western Pacific. This situation influences the countercurrent carrying warm water from the west to an area of the tropical eastern Pacific. The warm water feeds additional warmth and moisture into the atmosphere which results in storms and rainfall in some areas and drying in other areas around the globe (Ahrens 2015, p.215).

2. What changes might you expect to see in the earth's general circulation if the …show more content…
Explain why large high and low pressure systems don’t move from east-to-west across the continental United States. The earth’s atmosphere slopes from its highest point located over the equator to its lowest point over the poles combined with the earth’s rotation creating the Coriolis force deflects the winds to the right (east) (Ahrens 2015, p.168). The Coriolis force is significant where winds blow over vast regions such as oceans and land masses.

4. When making a weather forecast, which kind of chart is more important: a surface chart or a 500 mb chart? Why? Both charts are valuable tools when making a weather forecast (Ahrens 2015, p.165). Whereas the surface charts indicate the where the centers of low and high pressures are located, as well as the winds and the weather that are part of these pressure systems. However the 500 mb chart “are extremely important in forecasting the weather” (Ahrens 2015, p.165). The 500mb chart is used to determine the surface pressure system movements and whether these systems will intensifying or weakening and the movement that a pressure system is most likely to