Goodbye La Nina: Will drought, hurricanes also go?

(AP) -- Federal weather forecasters say the La Nina weather phenomenon that contributed to the southwestern U.S. drought is winding down.

The UN weather agency said on Thursday that La Nina, a phenomenon linked to flooding and drought, had re-emerged in the tropical Pacific since August but its impact is expected to be weaker this time.

The weather phenomenon known as La Nina is returning for another season, likely bringing more drought, heavy rains and severe weather to some parts of the world, US forecasters said Thursday.

U.S. scientists say La Niña-controlled weather patterns have the potential to produce more severe storms, as those recently seen in the Midwest and South.

There is a 50 percent chance the climatic condition known as La Nina -- which is associated with droughts in East Africa -- will return this year, the UN weather agency said Thursday.

The UN weather agency said Tuesday that El Nino, which wreaks havoc around the Pacific and east Africa, has dissipated, but La Nina -- another disruptive weather phenomenon, is likely to develop.

(AP)—One of Alaska's most restless volcanoes has shot an ash cloud 15,000 feet into the air in an ongoing eruption that has drawn attention from a nearby community but isn't expected to threaten air traffic.

NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite known as TRMM measured Cyclone Mahasen's rainfall rates from space as it made landfall on May 16. Mahasen has since dissipated over eastern India.

The first tropical storm of the Eastern Pacific hurricane season was short-lived. Satellite imagery revealed that Tropical Storm Alvin became a remnant low pressure area 36 hours after it was named.

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