Chris Prentice PlanetArk 7 Feb 14;
U.S. weather forecaster Climate Prediction Center (CPC) said on Thursday there was an increasing chance of the El Nino weather pattern after expecting neutral conditions through the Northern Hemisphere spring 2014.
In its monthly report, the CPC maintained its outlook that El Nino was unlikely through the spring, but noted that a change in temperatures "portend warming in the coming months."
That represented a change from the CPC's previous outlook of neutral conditions through summer 2014.
El Nino can cause flooding and heavy rains in the United States and South America and can trigger drought conditions in Southeast Asia and Australia.
(Reporting by Chris Prentice in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
