SYDNEY, April 12 (Reuters) - Weather models suggest there is a 50 percent chance of a La Nina weather pattern emerging in 2016, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology said on Tuesday.
La Nina events are associated with the increased probability of wetter conditions over much of Australia, particularly over the eastern and northern areas, and increased numbers of tropical cyclones.
The potential emergence of a La Nina comes as the strongest El Nino in nearly 20 years begins to subside.
The La Nina weather phenomenon is a cooling of the Pacific Ocean waters off the coast of South America that tends to follow the El Nino pattern, a warming of those waters.