The event can provoke drastic changes in weather, including intense downpours and a longer rainy season than usual. According to the NOAA, El Nino occurs once every three to six years. A strong event, like the devastation of key crops and roadways that occurred in both 1983 and 1998, happens once every eight to 15 years. But the forecast of a moderate El Nino storm hasn't fazed Sergio Seminario, president of Ecuador's Association of Banana Exporters. Since the 1998 storms walloped Ecuador's coast, many banana producers have built walls around their crop or moved plants to higher ground, he said.
Bananas are the nation's second biggest export, following oil.
Other key crops such as cocoa were also hit hard by the 1998 storms. Enfield of the NOAA said scientists will have more information about the likelihood of an El Nino phenomenon and its effects on climate by May 2001. Ths website is designed and maintained in cooperation with HelpForMyWebsite.