Averaged sea surface temperatures and sea surface temperature anomalies worldwide for the week centred on Feb. 3. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

First La Nina since 2012 expected in coming months

New York | 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, […] Read more

Sea surface temperature anomalies. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

El Nino seen declining, to return to neutral by Q2

Sydney | Reuters — The 2015-16 El Nino weather event, one of the three strongest in the past 50 years, has peaked in recent weeks and will likely return to “ENSO neutral” by the second quarter of this year, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said on Tuesday. The El Nino phenomenon is driven by warm […] Read more

(PortSeattle.org)

Cereals North America: Shift to La Nina may hurt yields

Winnipeg | CNS Canada –– El Nino weather patterns are typically beneficial to North American grain yields, but cut into the production prospects of key Eastern Hemisphere demand markets, according to presenters at this week’s Cereals North America conference. However, an expected shift toward La Nina conditions by late 2016 could see North American grain yields […] Read more