U.S. forecasters sees start of neutral weather pattern in next couple of months

(Reuters) – El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) neutral conditions are expected to begin within the next couple of months, and persist through the Northern Hemisphere spring and early summer, a U.S. government weather forecaster said on Thursday.

ENSO neutral conditions refer to those periods in which neither El Niño nor La Niña is present, often coinciding with the transition between the two weather patterns.

Although a weak La Niña was still apparent during January, below-average sea surface temperatures continued to weaken further across the equatorial Pacific Ocean, the forecaster said.

The La Niña weather pattern is characterized by unusually cold temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

(Reporting by Rahul Paswan and Seher Dareen in Bengaluru)