Tropical
Highlights - September 2015
Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) remained above-average across the equatorial Pacific during September
2015 (Fig. T18,
Table T2). The latest monthly
Niņo indices were +2.6°C for the Niņo 3
region, +2.3°C
for the Niņo 3.4 region, and +2.6°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) also remained above-average across
the eastern equatorial Pacific (Figs. T15, T16), and
the corresponding sub-surface temperatures were 1-6°C above average (Fig. T17).
Also
during September, the low-level westerly wind anomalies and upper-level
easterly wind anomalies remained strong across the western and east-central equatorial
Pacific (Table T1,
Figs. T20, T21).
Meanwhile, enhanced convection persisted across the central and eastern
equatorial Pacific and suppressed convection was observed across Indonesia and
western equatorial Pacific (Figs. T25, E3).
Collectively, these oceanic and atmospheric anomalies are consistent with 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
