2011 transition from La Nina to neutral phase. The Pacific basin undergoes a natural warming and cooling cycle every few years called the El Ni o_Southern Oscillation, or ENSO. Changes from the warmer than normal El Ni o to cooler than normal La Ni a phases affect seasonal weather patterns across the globe, especially in coastal Pacific areas where wind and rainfall patterns are greatly altered. Sea surface temperature anomaly SSTa data shows areas that are cooler or warmer than normal, and is one of the primary datasets used by scientists to assess ENSO. This animation starts on March 1st 2011, and runs until June 7th 2011, showing the daily SSTa imagery generated from the NOAA Optimum Interpolation SST product, which uses a variety of satellite and buoy observations. The equatorial regions transition from blue to white and then red colors as the spring progresses.