El Niño and La Niña transitions affect tropical cyclone development half a world away

The butterfly effect suggests that small changes in a system can have a large impact on eventual outcomes. One metaphor used to illustrate this concept is a butterfly flapping its wings only to cause a hurricane across the ocean. While meteorologists' current cause-and-effect understanding of weather isn't this granular, researchers are actively investigating how changes in temperature, rainfall, wind patterns, etc. can impact weather phenomena halfway across the world.