More forecasters are expecting La Niña to return to the U.S. later this year. The U.S. government last week joined weather forecasters in predicting the weather event will quickly follow the current El Niño weather pattern later this year. Weather models indicate La Niña conditions, which tend to occur unpredictably every two to seven years, may emerge in the Northern Hemisphere this fall, while El Niño is expected to dissipate during the late spring or early summer, according to the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center. Reuters reported the phenomenon can be less damaging than El Niño, but severe La Niñas are linked to floods, droughts and hurricanes. La Niña last appeared from August 2011 to March 2012, hurting corn and soybean crops in Argentina and Brazil and bringing with it the worst drought in a century to Texas.