May 5, 2006 NASA oceanographers agree that the recent La Nina in
the eastern Pacific Ocean is not expected to have an effect on
the Atlantic hurricane season this year. That is good news,
because normally a La Niña tends to increase Atlantic hurricane
activity and decrease Pacific Ocean hurricanes. Although La Nina
occurs in the Pacific, it affects weather in the Atlantic Ocean
as well, through changes in the winds. La Niña changes the wind
patterns in the upper and lower levels of the atmosphere, which
make it easier for hurricanes to form in the Atlantic and harder
in the eastern Pacific. In the Atlantic, the winds that would
normally tear a hurricane's circular motion apart are lessened
but they increase in the eastern Pacific. The National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Climate Prediction
Center is the federal agency that monitors La Nina conditions
such as cooler than normal sea surface temperatures,
precipitation and winds. According to their latest report on
April 6, 2006, sea surface