COLUMBIA, S.C. — El Niño is a climate pattern characterized by warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. Trade winds weaken, and warm water is pushed back east toward the west coast of America.
During El Niño, winds are less favorable for hurricane development in the Atlantic. El Niño tends to enhance vertical wind shear, which can disrupt the structure of developing hurricanes.
Storms that form in the Pacific can ride the warm waters brought by El Niño. This means that during El Niño years, hurricanes have increased the chance of landfall on the islands.