In Spain, El Nio means little one. In Illinois, El Nio meteorologically translates into cloudy days, warmer weather and a mild transition into the upcoming spring.

El Nio has been a big focus of the media recently, but television meteorologists generally don’t have time to expound on the causes and effects of the little one.

Rather, news media have expounded on how El Nio storms disrupt coastal communities with torrential rains and severe ice storms but failed to recognize that blizzards in the Dakotas this year weren’t the product of El Nio, American Meteorological Society Meteorologist Doc Horsley said.

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El Nio is used as a scapegoat to explain natural variations in weather patterns, Horsley said.

El Nio originated last July when the Pacific Ocean began a gradual warming trend. The processes of the oceanic warming are complex, but the results are clear to see, often coming in the form of heavy downpours in to the west and east coasts of the United States while bringing extended droughts into Australia.

A combination of El Nio storms and old-fashioned unpredictability are accountable for nearly 100 overcast days this winter. According to Horsley’s measurements that’s eight out of 10 days this winter. The overcast conditions helped Southern Illinois experience warmer temperatures this year.

The overcast skies in the Midwest have blanketed the region from colder winds from the north, which tend to create chilly conditions.

Horsley computed the average temperature for Southern Illinois’ coldest 92 days this winter to be 37.7 degrees Fahrenheit. This winter is Southern Illinois’ 11th warmest since 1910.

Susan Gordon, a freshman in education from Herrin, heard on television that El Nio was the cause of inclement weather across the nation.

Gordon is not certain whether or not El Nio storms have resulted in blizzards and flash floods, but El Nio was explained in one of her geography courses.

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This is Southern Illinois and this is what you get when you come here, Gordon said while standing outside the Student Center under an overcast sky.

Over exposure of El Nio in the media is leading people to notice weather trends that may not be happening, National Weather Service meteorologist Pat Spoden said.

Spoden, science operations officer, said people who interpret El Nio as the habitual cause of extreme coastal weather, or a sign that the end is near, are neglecting to realize the recorded history of El Nio in relationship to the age of the Earth.

People believe what they want. The Earth is billions of years old, Spoden said. The records of El Nio activity date back to only about 100 years ago.

James Hayden, sophomore in electrical engineering from La Grange, obtained a working definition of El Nio from watching the Discovery Channel.

The weather channels, I don’t think, have done a good job of explaining what El Nio is, Hayden said. The Discovery Channel and other nature channels do a pretty good job.

While the Discovery Channel does a fair job of explaining El Nino, there might be fewer viewers this winter as warmer weather beckons people outdoors.

Meteorologist Pat Spoden’s Daily Egyptian forecast:Going into March we will see normal weather although a bit cooler in the next few weeks. There may be thunder storms in mid-spring.