Tropical
Highlights - January 2017
Sea surface
temperatures (SSTs) remained slightly below-average
over the central equatorial Pacific during January 2017 (Fig. T18, Table T2). The latest monthly
Niņo indices were -0.1°C for the Niņo 4
region, -0.3°C
for the Niņo 3.4 region, and +1.2°C for the Niņo 1+2 region (Table
T2, Fig. T5). The depth of the oceanic thermocline
(measured by the depth of the 20°C isotherm) remained slightly below-average over
the eastern equatorial Pacific (Figs. T15,
T16), and the corresponding sub-surface temperatures were
0-1°C below average (Fig. T17).
Also during January, the lower-level
winds were near-average across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific and
enhanced over the western equatorial Pacific (Table T1, Fig. T20). Meanwhile, convection was suppressed
over the central and eastern equatorial Pacific and enhanced across Indonesia
and western equatorial Pacific (Figs. T25, E3). Collectively,
these oceanic and atmospheric anomalies reflected a transition from La Niņa to ENSO-neutral
conditions.
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