12 Nov 99 - Unusually warm ocean temperatures off Asia and cool waters in the eastern and equatorial Pacific are signaling La Niña's mild return, according to the latest sea-surface heights observed by the joint NASA-French space agency's TOPEX/Poseidon satellite. Lower than normal sea-surface heights in the eastern North Pacific and abnormally high sea-surface heights in the western and mid-latitude Pacific are expected to drive storms coming out of the Pacific this winter, the mission data indicate. Those conditions will most likely steer storms north into the Pacific Northwest and keep the southwestern United States dryer than normal.