Friday, February 12, 2016

La Niña expected in next months for the first time since 2012

To paraphrase Chris Farley, 'for those who don't habla Español, La Niña is Spanish for..ah..the niña.'

I mentioned on Tuesday "We are expecting to have a lousy weather-thank you La Niña long trade later this year..." Here's more.
From Reuters:
Even as the El Nino weather phenomenon continues to impact global temperatures and crops, its counterpart La Nina is increasingly expected to emerge in the coming months for the first time in four years.
The return of La Nina, Spanish for "the girl" and characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures, is possible later this year, the U.S. government forecaster said Thursday. It joined other forecasters in projecting La Nina could follow on the heels of one of the strongest El Ninos on record.

Weather models indicate La Nina conditions, which tend to occur unpredictably every two to seven years, may emerge in the Northern Hemisphere fall, while El Nino - which means "the little boy" in Spanish - is expected to dissipate during the late spring or early summer, the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) said in its monthly forecast.

The phenomenon can be less damaging than El Nino, but severe La Ninas are linked to floods, droughts and hurricanes.

Even though CPC is not on official watch for La Nina, the probability is trending towards one, said Michelle L'Heureux, a CPC climate scientist and El Nino/La Nina expert.

When La Nina last appeared from August 2011 to March 2012, it hurt corn and soybean crops in Argentina and Brazil, brought the worst drought in a century to Texas and increased the number of storms that threatened U.S. coastal regions, like Hurricane Irene....MORE
We have a couple hundred posts on La Niña, here's one from last week, or use the search blog box.
Contra the headline:
Agriculture: "Corn, Wheat, and Soybean Prices to Fall in 2016"