SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO AM) - As La Nina conditions fade in the Pacific Ocean, climatologists are mixed on the formation of an El Nino, which produces unusually warm ocean water.
An El Nino typically signals warmer than average temperatures for the Northern Plains and an equal chance of wetter than or dryer than normal conditions.
The head of the Midwest Climate Hub in Ames, Iowa, Dennis Todey, says there are some signs that an El Nino could be developing.
But Todey says he's not as convinced about that as other forecasters are. He says even if the El Nino is realized, he doesn't believe we'll see any impacting conditions before the end of the growing season.
Todey goes even further by saying it's unlikely that an El Nino will develop. In fact he says it would be almost unprecedented to go from a strong El Nino to a La Nina and then back to an El Nino in subsequent years. He says that has happened only one time in the last century. He says while it's possible, it seems very unlikely at this point.
Todey says the current trends into early summer indicate temperatures and precipitation above normal for much of the Northern Plains.