Tropical
Highlights - April 2016
Sea surface
temperatures (SSTs) remained above-average
across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific during April 2016, although
the magnitude of the anomalies has decreased (Fig. T18, Table T2).
The latest monthly
Niņo indices were +0.8°C for the Niņo 3
region, +1.1°C
for the Niņo 3.4 region, and +0.2°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 across the
central and eastern equatorial Pacific (Figs. T15,
T16), and
the corresponding sub-surface temperatures were 1-3°C below average (Fig. T17).
Also during April, the low-level westerly
wind anomalies were weak across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific while
upper-level easterly wind anomalies remained strong in the central equatorial
Pacific (Table T1,
Figs. T20, T21).
Meanwhile, enhanced convection persisted over the central equatorial Pacific
and suppressed convection was observed across Indonesia and western equatorial
Pacific (Figs. T25,
E3). Collectively, these oceanic
and atmospheric anomalies reflect a weakening El Niņo.
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