Rene Pastor in Reuters: A La Nina weather phenomenon, the lesser-known cousin of the more famous El Nino weather anomaly, will most likely develop in the second half of 2010, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center said Thursday. La Nina will come hard on the heels of an El Nino blamed for excessive rains in Brazil and the worst drought in 37 years in India. That raises the distinct possibility of more storms developing during the Atlantic Hurricane season which begins on June 1.CPC, a unit of the U.S. National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, said a large number of computer models indicates "the onset of La Nina conditions." CPC said that many computer models have shown an increased tendency for cooler sea surface readings.
This, in addition "to various oceanic and atmospheric indicators, indicate a growing possibility of La Nina developing during the second half of 2010." In the more famous El Nino, there is an abnormal warming of waters in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, wreaking havoc on weather patterns from Asia to Latin America and up into North America. El Nino would allow wind shear to seep into the Atlantic, tearing apart embryonic storms forming in the area.
La Nina has the opposite effect and its formation could lead to a spike in the number of hurricanes which form during the storm season which runs to November 30. More storms could disrupt crude production off the U.S. Gulf coast at a time when the industry is wrestling with the massive oil spill after the explosion and sinking of a BP Plc rig, one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history….
Hurricane Rita in 2005, when it was a category 5 storm
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