El Niño likely to affect winter travel
This year’s winter forecast may severely affect travel plans across the entire Western Hemisphere, according to meteorologists with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), citing this El Niño as the strongest in 50 years. “El Niño has already produced significant global impacts and is expected to affect temperature and precipitation patterns across the US during the upcoming months,” said the US National Weather Service in December. El Niño, which has been noted by South American fishermen since 1600, refers to changes in large-scale oceanic and atmospheric temperature with unusually warm water in the central and eastern Pacific causing extreme weather patterns. This winter’s El Niño is predicted to impact on travel with heavy rain storms and flash floods on the Pacific Coast and further inland; sparse snow on slopes in the Pacific Northwest, where it is expected to be drier and warmer than usual; above-average temperatures in the Northeast with increased rainfall; and below-average temperatures expected in the Southeast with heavy rain. El Niño 2015-6 is expected to cause flooding and extreme weather around the globe, with South America, Europe, Mexico and Australia being the most affected. Stan Sandberg of US comparison site TravelInsurance advised consumers to take the weather warning into account when choosing insurance: “We always recommend buying a policy with weather-related coverage as soon as you’ve purchased travel.”
This year’s winter forecast may severely affect travel plans across the entire Western Hemisphere, according to meteorologists with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), citing this El Niño as the strongest in 50 years. “El Niño has already produced significant global impacts and is expected to affect temperature and precipitation patterns across the US during the upcoming months,” said the US National Weather Service in December.
El Niño, which has been noted by South American fishermen since 1600, refers to changes in large-scale oceanic and atmospheric temperature with unusually warm water in the central and eastern Pacific causing extreme weather patterns. This winter’s El Niño is predicted to impact on travel with heavy rain storms and flash floods on the Pacific Coast and further inland; sparse snow on slopes in the Pacific Northwest, where it is expected to be drier and warmer than usual; above-average temperatures in the Northeast with increased rainfall; and below-average temperatures expected in the Southeast with heavy rain. El Niño 2015-6 is expected to cause flooding and extreme weather around the globe, with South America, Europe, Mexico and Australia being the most affected.
Stan Sandberg of US comparison site TravelInsurance advised consumers to take the weather warning into account when choosing insurance: “We always recommend buying a policy with weather-related coverage as soon as you’ve purchased travel.”