Tropical
Highlights – March 2020
During March
2020, sea surface
temperatures (SSTs) remained above-average across much
of the equatorial Pacific (Fig. T18). The latest monthly Niño indices were +0.5°C for
the Niño 1+2 region, +0.6°C for the Niño 3.4 region and +1.1°C for the Niño 4 region (Fig. T5). The depth of the oceanic thermocline
(measured by the depth of the 20°C isotherm) was above-average in the eastern equatorial
Pacific (Figs. T15, T16).
The corresponding sub-surface
temperatures were 1-3°C above average across the central and eastern equatorial
Pacific (Fig. T17).
Also during March, the lower-level
easterly winds were stronger than average over the eastern equatorial Pacific (Fig. T20).
The upper-level westerly winds were stronger than average across the central
and eastern equatorial Pacific (Fig. T21). Meanwhile, tropical convection was near
average around the Date Line and slightly suppressed over Indonesia (Figs. T25, E3). 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