Tropical
Highlights - October 2015
Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) remained well
above-average across the equatorial Pacific during October
2015 (Fig. T18,
Table T2). The latest monthly
Niņo indices were +2.7°C for the Niņo 3
region, +2.5°C
for the Niņo 3.4 region, and +2.5°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 October, the low-level westerly wind anomalies and upper-level easterly
wind anomalies remained strong across the 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 reflect strong and mature 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