(Dow Jones) -- Australia's weather department remains on watch for a La Nina weather pattern in the tropical Pacific Ocean sometime in the coming months. The government's Bureau of Meteorology says the region remains in a neutral state, with an about 50% chance of La Nina developing in 2016, which is about twice the normal likelihood. International climate models indicate that further cooling in the tropical Pacific Ocean is likely, with half of them suggesting that sea surface temperatures will reach La Nina thresholds. If an event were to occur, models suggest it wouldn't be as strong as the most recent La Nina in 2010-12, the bureau says. La Nina, which often follows on the heels of an El Nino event, is typically associated with higher than usual winter and spring rainfall over northern, central and eastern Australia, and cooler than normal daytime temperatures south of the tropics.
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