During the first two weeks of January 2009, torrential rains brought both drought relief and severe flooding to parts of Queensland and Northern Territory in northern Australia.
Published Jan 14, 2009
This image shows rainfall totals for January 27 through February 3, 2009, for northeastern Australia and the surrounding region, where Cyclone Ellie made landfall on February 2.
Published Feb 4, 2009
La Niña, the counterpart to El Niño, alters rainfall patterns over the Pacific and Indian Ocean basins. La Niña develops when stronger-than-average trade winds push the warm surface waters of the equatorial Pacific west. Since cold water rises to replace the warm water, La Niña leaves the eastern and central Pacific Ocean much cooler than normal, while the western Pacific is much warmer than normal. These anomalies in sea surface temperature are mirrored in rainfall patterns, with warmer-than-normal temperatures resulting in enhanced rainfall. In general, La Niña brings unusually heavy rain to the West Pacific, Indonesia, parts of Southeast Asia, and northern Australia.
Published Jan 23, 2008
Typhoon Molave dropped a swath of heavy rain across the western Pacific Ocean as it tracked west across the Philippines and into China.
Published Jul 21, 2009
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