Tropical
Highlights - March 2019
Sea surface
temperatures (SSTs) remained above-average across
the equatorial Pacific during March 2019 (Fig.
T18, Table T2). The latest
monthly
Niņo indices were +0.3°C for the Niņo 1+2
region, +1.0°C
for the Niņo 3.4 region and +0.9°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 eastern equatorial Pacific (Figs. T15,
T16), and the
corresponding sub-surface temperatures were 1-5°C above average (Fig. T17).
Also during March, both the
lower-level easterly winds and upper-level westerly winds were near-average across
the equatorial Pacific (Table T1, Fig. T20, Fig. T21). Meanwhile, tropical convection was enhanced across
the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (Figs. T25, E3). Collectively, these oceanic and
atmospheric anomalies reflect a weak El Niņo.
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
