Tropical
Highlights – June 2013
During June 2013, the sea surface temperatures (SSTs) remained near-average across the central and east-central
equatorial Pacific and
below average in the eastern equatorial Pacific (Fig.
T18, Table T2). The latest monthly Niño indices were -0.2°C for
the Niño 3.4 region and -1.4°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).
Also
during June, the equatorial low-level easterly trade winds remained near-average
across the equatorial Pacific (Table T1, Fig. T20),
and tropical convection remained enhanced over Indonesia and suppressed over
the central equatorial Pacific (Figs. T25, E3). Collectively,
these oceanic and atmospheric anomalies reflect a continuation of 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