Tropical
Highlights - July 2017
Sea surface
temperatures (SSTs) during July 2017 remained near-average across most of the equatorial Pacific (Fig. T18, Table T2). The latest monthly Niņo indices were +0.4°C for
the Niņo 4 region, +0.4°C for the Niņo 3.4 region, and -0.1°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) was near-average over the central
and eastern equatorial Pacific (Figs. T15, T16), and
the corresponding sub-surface temperatures were 0-1°C above average (Fig. T17).
Also during July, the lower-level
trade winds were enhanced across the western equatorial Pacific and the
upper-level winds were near average over much of the equatorial Pacific (Table T1, Figs. T20, T21). Meanwhile, convection
was enhanced over western equatorial Pacific and Maritime Continent (Figs. T25, E3). Collectively, these oceanic and
atmospheric anomalies are 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