Ocean temperatures rise, boosting odds of El Nino ahead

Pacific Ocean temperatures are rising along the equator, a signal that winter likely will be warmer than normal in the Northwest.Federal climatologists peg the odds that an El Nino will form in the next couple of months at 70 to 75 percent, a 5 percent increase since mid-September. The warm ocean should influence late winter weather, but El Ninos historically have had little effect on snow accumulation in Washington before Jan. 1, State Climatologist Nick Bond said.“Here’s hoping that holds true to form, and we get reasonably wet and cold weather in the mountains pretty soon,” he said.The Climate Prediction Center revised its El Nino outlook on Oct. 11. The federal agency reported that surface temperatures rose across the Pacific during the previous four weeks and that warmer water spread over a larger area.Winters are generally warm and dry in the northern tier of the U.S. during an El Nino.