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Tropical Highlights
JANUARY 2010
Forecast Forum
A strong El
Niņo
persisted during
January 2010, as the sea surface temperatures (SSTs)
remained well above average across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific
Ocean (Fig.
T18). The
latest monthly Niņo-region
SST indices were +1.6°C for the Niņo-3.4 region and +1.4°C for the Niņo-4
region. (Table
T2, Fig. T5). The oceanic
thermocline, measured by the depth of the 20°C isotherm,
remained deeper than average across the equatorial Pacific (Figs. T15,
T16), with sub-surface temperatures in the
eastern Pacific reaching +1°C
to +5°C above average (Fig.
T17).
Also
consistent with El Niņo, convection was enhanced over the central equatorial
Pacific (Figs. T25,
T26 and E3), and low-level
westerly and upper-level easterly wind anomalies were present over the
equatorial Pacific (Figs. T20,
T21).
However, tropical convection showed considerable week-to-week variability over
Indonesia (Fig. T11).
For
the latest status of the ENSO cycle see the ENSO Diagnostic Discussion at:
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/index.html
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