WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The return of a La Nina weather pattern this year will likely mean drought in southern and southwestern U.S. states, government forecasters said on Thursday, adding it was too early to tell if La Nina would also lead to more Atlantic hurricanes in 2006.



La Nina is an unusual cooling of Pacific Ocean surface temperatures, which can trigger widespread changes in weather around the world. Forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said La Nina could wreak havoc on U.S. weather through late spring, and possibly into the summer.

"This pattern will favor continued drought in parts of the South and Southwest from Arizona to Arkansas and Louisiana, and above normal precipitation in the Northwest and the Tennessee Valley area," NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher said in a statement.

NOAA also said that, while La Nina can mean increased hurricane activity in the Atlantic Ocean, it was too soon to say what impact it will have this year.

Last year was the busiest Atlantic hurricane season on record, with 26 named storms and 13 hurricanes. Four major hurricanes made landfall in the United States, including Rita and Katrina, which pounded the U.S. Gulf Coast in August and September with heavy rains and wind.

NOAA previously warned that the hurricane season -- which typically peaks between August 1 and late October -- could be active again in 2006.

A La Nina weather pattern occurs about every three to five years. The last one was in 2000-2001, but it was relatively weak.

La Nina, which means "infant girl" in Spanish, is generally the opposite of an El Nino weather pattern.

NOAA will release its U.S. spring weather outlook in mid-March and its forecast for the Atlantic and Pacific hurricane seasons in mid-May

i'd slap the shit out of La Nina!

sinisterpentatonic said: