U.S. weather forecaster sees 70 percent chance of El Nino

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. weather forecaster said there was an increased likelihood of an El Nino weather phenomenon striking during the Northern Hemisphere summer in its monthly outlook on Thursday.

The Climate Prediction Center, an agency of the National Weather Service, said there was a 70 percent chance of El Nino, which can wreak havoc on global crops, during the summer and 80 percent during the fall and winter.

(Reporting by Josephine Mason; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)