El Niño weather pattern transitions to neutral conditions - U.S. forecaster

The El Niño weather pattern has transitioned to ENSO-neutral conditions that have a 50%-55% chance of continuing through the Northern Hemisphere winter of 2019-20, a U.S. government weather forecaster said on Thursday.

ENSO-neutral refers to those periods in which neither El Niño nor La Niña is present, according to the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center (CPC).

"While forecasters favor ENSO-neutral conditions, the odds of El Niño (at about 30%) are roughly twice that of La Niña for next winter," CPC said in its monthly forecast.