NOAA reports that the El Nino conditions that developed earlier this year in the Pacific are peaking. The warming of the ocean is expected to begin decreasing and should dissipate during the March – May time frame.

The following information is from the El Nino/Southern Oscillation Diagnostic Discussion issued by the Climate Prediction Center issued on January 11th.

“There is an increased probability of observing El Niño-related effects over North America during January-March 2007, including warmer-than-average temperatures over western and central Canada, and over the northern United States, wetter-than-average conditions over portions of the U.S. Gulf Coast and Florida, and drier-than-average conditions in the Ohio Valley and in portions of the Pacific Northwest. Global effects that can be expected during January-March include drier-than-average conditions over portions of Malaysia, Indonesia, northern and eastern Australia, some of the U.S.-affiliated islands in the tropical North Pacific, northern South America and southeastern Africa, and wetter-than-average conditions over central South America (Uruguay, northeastern Argentina, southeastern Paraguay and southern Brazil) and possibly along the coasts of Ecuador and northern Peru.”