Predicting Weather By The Moon - Xavier University Libraries

What Causes Weather
ple died. All told, the damage estimates ranged from $8
billion to $13 billion. Between 1983 and 1992, and probably
at other ‘El Nino’ times, the east coasts of the North
Island (New Zealand) were subjected to a ‘bloom’ on the
sea floor preventing bottom feeding fish to receive sufficient
food and dying, due to insufficient tidal or current
movement to clear the ‘bloom’ away.
El Niño is correlated with droughts in Australia,
Ethiopia, Indonesia and Zimbabwe, stronger hurricanes in
the Eastern Pacific and weaker ones in the Atlantic. Scientists
have been enthusiastically rushing into print since
1997 was identified as the beginning of the latest El Nino
cycle. But are the words ‘El Nino’ a cure-all explanation
for every weather pattern that occurs?
LA NINA?
After the summer of 1988/89 a new weather term
was on the lips of meteorologists:La Nina. This was said
to be the ‘positive phase of the Southern Oscillation, the
opposite of El Nino, or El Nino’s cooler sister. La Nina
was immediately stated to be the reason for a drought in
New Zealand in the South Island. It also happened to be the
beginning of decline of the 28° declination of the Moon.
The previous dry spells had been in 1969, 1950, 1932 and
1914; all years of the Moon in 28° declination.
On Jan 29 th 1999 (NZ Herald), a spokesman for the
National Climate Centre said
“..we are looking at significant problems in the decades
ahead and incredibly depressing problems in the next century
or two”
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