{"id":587231,"date":"2026-04-16T06:22:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T06:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/587231\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T06:22:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T06:22:09","slug":"how-one-climate-cycle-plays-a-key-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/587231\/","title":{"rendered":"How one climate cycle plays a key role"},"content":{"rendered":"

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) \u2014 A months-long rainfall deficit across western North Carolina didn’t happen by chance; One factor was a large-scale climate pattern known as the El Ni\u00f1o Southern Oscillation (ENSO).<\/p>\n

One of its phases, La Ni\u00f1a, developed last fall and persisted through the winter, a setup that often favors drier-than-normal conditions across the Southeast. As the jet stream shifted north, many of the steady storm systems that typically bring winter rainfall stayed away from the region.<\/p>\n

Over time, that lack of consistent rain allowed deficits to build. In Asheville, rainfall is now running more than a foot below normal since the last surplus in August.<\/p>\n

NEAR-RECORD HEAT EXPECTED IN WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AMID ONGOING DROUGHT<\/a><\/p>\n

Now, that pattern is beginning to change.<\/p>\n

According to the Climate Prediction Center<\/a>, La Ni\u00f1a has ended. The atmosphere has shifted into a neutral phase. Looking ahead, there is a 61% chance El Ni\u00f1o will develop by summer and continue into the end of the year.<\/p>\n

At first glance, that might sound like good news for drought, but the timing makes a difference.<\/p>\n

DROUGHT PUTS PRESSURE ON WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA FARMERS AS PLANTING SEASON BEGINS<\/a><\/p>\n

The ENSO pattern tends to have its biggest impact across the southern U.S. during the winter months when larger, more organized storm systems are common. During the summer, rainfall is more scattered and driven by pop-up storms, which are less effective at reversing long-term deficits.<\/p>\n

In other words, even if El Ni\u00f1o develops, it doesn’t immediately bring the kind of steady, widespread rain needed to ease drought conditions.<\/p>\n

For now, the pattern may be shifting, but meaningful drought recovery will likely take time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) \u2014 A months-long rainfall deficit across western North Carolina didn’t happen by chance; One factor…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":587232,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":{"0":"post-587231","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=587231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/587232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}