Tropical
Highlights - February 2019
Sea surface
temperatures (SSTs) remained above-average across
the equatorial Pacific during February 2019 (Fig. T18, Table T2).
The latest monthly
Niņo indices were +0.3°C for the Niņo 1+2
region, +0.7°C
for the Niņo 3.4 region and +1.0°C for the Niņo 4 region (Table T2,
Fig. T5). The depth
of the oceanic thermocline (measured by the depth of the 20°C isotherm) was above-average
across much of the central and eastern equatorial Pacific (Figs. T15, T16), and the corresponding sub-surface
temperatures were 1-4°C above average (Fig.
T17).
Also during February, the lower-level
easterly winds were weaker-than-average (indicated by westerly anomalies) across
the equatorial Pacific (Table T1, Fig. T20), while the
upper-level westerly winds anomalies were above-average over the eastern equatorial
Pacific (Fig. T21).
Meanwhile, tropical convection was suppressed over Indonesia and enhanced near
the Date Line (Figs. T25, E3).
Collectively, these oceanic and atmospheric anomalies reflect weak El Niņo
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
www.nws.noaa.gov
