So Long, El Nino! Hello, La Nina?

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA - The winter El Nino, once described as a "Godzilla" weather pattern threatening to drench the coast with rains and put a dent in the Southland's years-long drought, is officially over, forecasters announced Thursday.

Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction Center said the El Nino pattern, characterized by warming ocean temperatures, dissipated by the end of May "as indicated by the expansion of near-to-below average surface temperatures across the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean."

The proclamation ends the El Nino that some pundits had suggested would be comparable to the 1997-98 event, which was the strongest on record. But while the pattern did bring some rains to California -- particularly in northern parts of the state -- it wasn't the full drought-buster many had hoped.

"For one thing, there was more ocean surface warming in the western Pacific and less warming in the eastern Pacific during 2015-16 than 1997-98," Emily Becker of the NOAA wrote in a post on the agency's website. 

"Also, the amount of warm water under the surface was less during 2015-16 than 1997-98. The atmospheric response during 2015-16 was also generally weaker than during 1997-98.

"In short ... no two El Ninos are alike," she wrote.

According to the NOAA, ocean temperatures have settled into the normal range, but that is expected to change, with a 65 percent chance that temperatures will dip into the range of La Nina in the July-to-September time frame, and a 75 percent chance of La Nina by the fall.

La Nina is considered the environmental opposite of El Nino, often leading to below-average rainfall in the Southwest.

How this La Nina event might affect the climate is still uncertain, although Becker noted that forecasters are anticipating "a weak or border-line moderate event."

La Nina can affect weather patterns on a wide scale, with warm air rising in the western Pacific, moving east and descending in the eastern Pacific, bringing strong trade winds and cooling the water.

"La Nina's effect on U.S. summer climate is limited, although it can influence hurricane seasons," according to Becker. 

NOAA's official outlooks for the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific hurricane indicate that near-normal seasons are  most likely in both."

• Also see: Sierra Snowpack Disappearing In All This Heat: Images

--City News Service; Image via NASA