CNN reports that although EN has been known for centuries by Peruvian fishermen, its effects elsewhere may have been unrecognized. A drought during the "long slump" in EN in the 1030's may have been the cause of the American Dust Bowl. Lewis and Clark may have been hampered in their explorations by rains in 1806. Finally, noting that EN leads to increased Mid Eastern rainfall, an Israeli scientist has suggested that the Biblical drought of Exodus 9: 33 was caused by the absence of EN. (William Vogt an early ENSO researcher suggested that Hitler's armies bogged down in Russian winters because eastern such winters are worse in EN years.--ED)
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