HARBINGERS OF EL NINO STIRRING IN THE PACIFIC.(MAIN)

Byline: Associated Press

LOS ANGELES -- Satellites have picked up a shift in the trade winds and detected humps of warm water moving across the Pacific Ocean at the equator -- signs that another weather-disrupting El Nino may be brewing.

If so, heavy rains and drought could be in store around the world come winter.

An El Nino occurs when westward-blowing trade winds weaken, allowing a mass of warm water normally situated off Australia to drive eastward to western South America. The phenomenon got its name from the Spanish words for baby Jesus because the huge, warm pool usually arrives around Christmas.

El Ninos alter the strength and …