La Niña can lead to droughts in South America. Photographer: Sebastian Lopez /Getty Images
The odds of a weather-roiling La Niña in the coming months are rising, elevating the risk of an unusually active Atlantic hurricane season.
The chances of La Niña, a cooling of the equatorial Pacific, rose to 82% for August, September and October, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center said. In February, there was a 74% chance.
“The numbers edged upwards, not dramatically, and the timing still seems to be the same as to what we were predicting last month,” said Michelle L’Heureux, a forecaster with the center.
