Tropical
Highlights - November 2023
During November
2023, sea surface
temperatures (SSTs) remained well above-average across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific (Fig. T18).
The latest monthly
Niņo indices were +2.2C for the Niņo 1+2
region, +1.9C
for the Niņo 3.4 region and +2.1C for the Niņo 3 region (Table T2). The depth of the oceanic thermocline
(measured by the depth of the 20C isotherm) was above-average across the central
and eastern equatorial Pacific (Figs. T15, T16). The
corresponding sub-surface temperatures were 1-4C above-average in the far
eastern equatorial Pacific (Fig. T17).
Also during November, the
lower-level wind anomalies were westerly over much of the central and eastern equatorial
Pacific, while the upper-level wind anomalies were easterly across the
equatorial Pacific (Table T1, Figs. T20, T21). Meanwhile, tropical
convection was enhanced around the Date Line and suppressed over Indonesia (Fig. T25). Collectively,
these oceanic and atmospheric anomalies were consistent with strong 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