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HOME > Expert Assessments > ENSO Diagnostic Discussion
 
 
EL NIŅO/SOUTHERN OSCILLATION (ENSO)
DIAGNOSTIC DISCUSSION
issued by
CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER/NCEP
June 11, 2001
 

Since January 2001 there has been a gradual weakening of La Niņa conditions in the tropical Pacific, as negative sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies have decreased in magnitude and low-level winds have trended toward normal. By May 2001 near-neutral ENSO conditions were evident, as SST anomalies were near zero and the low-level easterly anomalies were weak over the central and western equatorial Pacific. Over the past two years there has been a gradual expansion of the area of positive equatorial subsurface temperature anomalies into the central Pacific and a gradual decrease in the strength and areal extent of the negative subsurface temperature anomalies in the eastern Pacific (Fig.1). This evolution is consistent with a slow decay of the subsurface thermal structure that characterizes the mature phase of cold episodes. Accompanying this evolution has been an eastward shift and weakening of the magnitude of the negative SST anomalies (Fig. 2). Near normal conditions are likely to prevail in the tropical Pacific during the northern summer. This assessment is consistent with most coupled model and statistical model predictions. Thereafter, most predictions indicate near-normal or slightly warmer-than-normal conditions during late 2001 and early 2002.

Weekly updates for SST, 850-hPa wind, OLR and the equatorial subsurface temperature structure are available on the Climate Prediction Center homepage at: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov (Weekly Update). Forecasts for the evolution of El Niņo/La Niņa are updated monthly in CPC's Climate Diagnostics Bulletin Forecast Forum. This ENSO Diagnostic Discussion, which replaces the ENSO Advisories, will appear regularly around the 10th of each month on the CPC web site.

 
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Page last modified: June 11, 2001
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