El Nino on the Horizon

I don't want to be unnecessarily alarmist, but it does appear as though another El Nino event is looming in South Eastern Australia. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, there is a current warming trend across the tropical Pacific Ocean. If the warmer conditions persist over the Tropical Pacific, this can interrupt the trade winds around the equator, resulting in cloud build up, and a change in ocean temperatures. The El Nino occurs when there are differences between the Ocean Temperature in the Western Pacific around Australia, and the Eastern Pacific around South America. This difference causes a change in weather patterns, with higher rainfall in the East, and lower in the West. Past El Ninos have been associated with droughts in Australia. At the moment, the BOM is saying that an El Nino could develop as early as July, with warnings at an alert level. WHilst it is early days in the modelling, watch the Bureau at http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/ as the conditions develop. I would suggest to farmers and growers in South Eastern Australia, start planning for dry conditions, and plant your crops early to take advantage of Autumn soil moisture.