Tropical Highlights - October 2022

 

 

During October 2022, below-average sea surface temperatures (SSTs) persisted across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific (Fig. T18). The latest monthly Ni�o indices based on OISSTV2.1 were -1.8C for the Ni�o 1+2 region, -0.9C for the Ni�o 3.4 region and -1.1C for the Ni�o 4 region (Table T2). The depth of the oceanic thermocline (measured by the depth of the 20C isotherm) was below-average across the eastern equatorial Pacific (Figs. T15, T16). The corresponding sub-surface temperatures were 1-4C below-average (Fig. T17).

 

Also during October, the lower-level easterly winds and upper-level westerly winds were above-average across most of the equatorial Pacific (Table T1, Fig. T20). Meanwhile, tropical convection was suppressed over much of the central and western equatorial Pacific and enhanced over Indonesia (Fig. T25). Collectively, these oceanic and atmospheric anomalies were consistent with La Ni�a 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