Australia sees greater risk of El Nino weather pattern

World News Headlines - Yahoo News By Colin Packham SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian climate models indicate an increased chance of an El Nino weather pattern emerging later this year, the country s weather bureau said on Tuesday, raising the risk of drought and floods in some parts of the world. The forecast comes after the U.S. Climate Prediction Center last week also said there was an increasing chance of El Nino after expecting neutral conditions through the Northern Hemisphere spring 2014. The risk of an El Nino event in the second half of 2014 has increased, but it s certainly not guaranteed at this point in time, said Andrew Watkins, Supervisor, Climate Prediction at Australia s Bureau of Meteorology. El Nino can cause flooding and heavy rains in the United States and South America and can trigger drought conditions in Southeast Asia and Australia.