Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)`s Weather Service predicts that the on-going El Nino natural phenomenon is likely to continue into early 2007.

Among the global effects the phenomenon would have in the November-March period were drier-than-average conditions over most of Malaysia, Indonesia, some of the US-owned islands in the tropical North Pacific, northern South America and southeastern Africa, according to a report from NOAA received by ANTARA here on Friday.

During the same period, wetter-than-average conditions were expected over equatorial East Africa, central South America (Uruguay, northeastern Argentine, and southern Brazil) and along the coasts of Ecuador and northern Peru.

The latest National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)`s Coupled Forecast System (CFS) predictions indicate El Nino conditions in the remainder of 2006 and into the Northern Hemisphere (NH) spring (Southern Hemisphere (SH ) fall 2007. More than two-thirds of the other statistical and coupled model predictions also indicate El Nino conditions during the same period.

Equatorial Pacific SST (Sea Surface Temperature) anomalies greater than +0.5 degrees C were observed in most of the equatorial Pacific, with anomalies exceeding +1.0 degrees C between 165 degrees East and 165 degrees West and in several areas east of 150 degrees West , the report said.

The latest SST departures in the Nino regions are all greater than +0.5. Beginning in February the basin-wide upper ocean heat content increased, and since early April positive anomalies have been observed. Since early July weaker-than-average low-level equatorial easterly winds have been observed across most of the equatorial Pacific.

In September the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) was negative for the fifth consecutive month. Collectively, these oceanic and atmospheric anomalies are consistent with the early stages of El Nino in the tropical Pacific.

Over the past several months most of the statistical and coupled model forecasts have trended towards warmer conditions in the tropical Pacific through the Northern Hemisphere winter.

Typical El Nino effects are likely to develop over North America during the upcoming winter season, including warmer-than-average temperatures over western and central Canada, and over the western and northern United States, wetter-than-average conditions over portions of the U.S. Gulf Coast and Florida, and drier-than-average conditions in the Ohio Valley and the Pacific Northwest.