Tropical
Highlights – December 2012
During December 2012, the sea surface temperatures (SSTs) remained near
average across the central and east-central equatorial Pacific,
but colder-than-average over the far eastern equatorial Pacific (Fig. T18, Table T2). The latest monthly Niño indices were -0.1°C for
the Niño 3.4 region and -0.9°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).
The
equatorial low-level easterly trade winds remained slightly enhanced over the
western equatorial Pacific during December, and were near-average across the central
and east-central equatorial Pacific (Table
T1, Fig. T20). This
pattern is largely consistent with continued ENSO-neutral conditions. Suppressed convection was seen over the
western and central equatorial Pacific (Figs.
T25, E3).
Collectively, these oceanic and atmospheric anomalies reflect 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