Tropical
Highlights - February 2023
During February
2023, below-average sea surface temperatures (SSTs) persisted but
weakened across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific (Fig. T18).
The latest monthly
Niņo indices based on OISSTV2.1 were +0.7C for the Niņo 1+2 region, -0.4C for the Niņo 3.4 region and -0.5C for the Niņo 4 region (Table T2). The depth of the oceanic thermocline
(measured by the depth of the 20C isotherm) was below-average in the far eastern
equatorial Pacific (Figs. T15, T16). The
corresponding sub-surface temperatures were 1-2C below-average (Fig. T17).
Also during February, the
lower-level easterly winds and upper-level westerly winds were above-average across
most of the equatorial Pacific (Table T1, Figs. T20, T21). Meanwhile, tropical
convection was suppressed over the central equatorial Pacific and enhanced over
Indonesia (Fig. T25).
Collectively, these oceanic and atmospheric anomalies were consistent with 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