Tropical
Highlights – October 2013
During October 2013, the sea surface temperatures (SSTs) remained near-average across the central and east-central
equatorial Pacific, and below average in the eastern equatorial Pacific (Fig. T18, Table
T2). The latest monthly
Niño indices were -0.3°C for the Niño 3.4 region
and -0.6°C
for the Niño 1+2 region (Table T2,
Fig. T5). Consistent
with these conditions, the depth of the oceanic thermocline (measured
by the depth of the 20°C isotherm) remained near-average
across the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (Figs. T15, T16).
Also
during October, the low-level easterly trade winds remained near-average across
the equatorial Pacific (Table T1, Fig. T20), and tropical
convection remained slightly enhanced over Indonesia (Figs. T25, E3). Collectively, these oceanic and
atmospheric anomalies reflect a continuation of 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