Developing La Nina could be big player in '07 storm season.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasters say a developing La Nina weather pattern could increase the number of Atlantic hurricanes this season. La Nina is the periodic cooling of ocean waters in the east-central equatorial Pacific Ocean, which can impact the typical alignment of weather patterns around the globe.

NOAA predicts this La Nina event will likely remain into late spring, and possibly summer. Scientists at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center noted as the 2006-07 El Nino weather pattern faded, surface and subsurface ocean temperatures have rapidly decreased. Dennis Felkin, a meteorologist at National Weather Service Public Affairs, said it is too early to tell what, if any, effect the developing La Nina pattern will have on the hurricane season. "We are essentially in neutral conditions, with no El Nino and no La Nina. All things being neutral, a La Nina pattern, should it develop, does seem to have an effect on the Atlantic hurricane season."