U.S. weather forecaster maintains forecast for weak El Nino

Chris Prentice PlanetArk 6 Feb 15;

The U.S. weather forecaster on Thursday maintained its forecast for a 50 percent to 60 percent chance of El Nino during the Northern Hemisphere winter and early spring, with neutral conditions thereafter.

The Climate Prediction Center, an agency of the national Weather Service, in its monthly report kept its outlook unchanged for the possibility of a weak El Nino if the conditions emerge.

El Nino, the warming of Pacific sea-surface temperatures, can trigger drought in some parts of the world and cause flooding in others, adding to uncertainty in commodities and energy markets.

The CPC's outlook comes after Australia's weather forecaster reduced the likelihood El Nino due to easing indicators in recent weeks.

The CPC has dialed back its outlook for El Nino after going on alert for the conditions about a year ago for the first time since 2012.

To read the full CPC report: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/ensodisc.html

(Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Lisa Von Ahn)