NOAA Says La Niña Is Fading, But An El Niño Possible Next Winter

By Chris Spears

DENVER (CBS4) - NOAA's Climate Prediction Center released a report on Thursday that said sea surface temperatures were mostly near to below normal along the equator in the Pacific Ocean, indicating that La Niña is fading away.

Neutral conditions are expected in the equatorial waters of the Pacific Ocean for the next several months.

The report warned that El Niño could potentially develop at some point during the upcoming winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

As summer weather patterns set up in Colorado over the next several weeks we'll be looking for the return of the North American Monsoon, which is a seasonal shift in the prevailing wind that happens each year.

The wind shift transports warm, moist air up the western coast of Mexico and into desert southwest and the southern and central Rockies. It helps to spawn afternoon showers and thunderstorms between June and September.

In Colorado the monsoon is especially prevalent during late July and most of August.

Some years the moisture flow is strong and we see problems with heavy rain and even flash flooding. In other years the monsoon can be weak and thunderstorms aren't as numerous.

Only time will tell what this summer will be like but our fingers are crossed for some much needed rain in the drought stricken parts of our state.

Meteorologist Chris Spears travels weekly in the CBS4 Mobile Weather Lab reporting about Colorado's weather and climate. Check out his bio, connect with him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @ChrisCBS4.