Tropical
Highlights - November 2016
Sea surface
temperatures (SSTs) remained below-average over
the central and eastern equatorial Pacific during November 2016 (Fig. T18, Table T2). The latest monthly Niņo indices were -0.4°C for
the Niņo 3 region, -0.6°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) remained below-average over the eastern
equatorial Pacific (Figs. T15, T16), and
the corresponding sub-surface temperatures were 1-3°C below average (Fig. T17).
Also during November, the lower-level
winds were near-average across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific and
enhanced over the western equatorial Pacific (Table T1, Fig. T20).
Meanwhile, convection was suppressed over the central and eastern equatorial
Pacific and enhanced across Indonesia and western equatorial Pacific (Figs. T25, E3). Collectively, these oceanic and
atmospheric anomalies reflect a continuation of weak La Niņa 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