Tropical
Highlights - July 2015
Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) remained above-average across the equatorial Pacific during
July 2015 (Fig. T18,
Table T2). The latest monthly
Niņo indices were +2.2°C for the Niņo 3
region, +1.6°C
for the Niņo 3.4 region, and +2.9°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) also remained above-average across
the eastern equatorial Pacific (Figs. T15, T16), and the corresponding sub-surface
temperatures were 1-6°C above average (Fig.
T17).
Also
during July, the low-level westerly wind anomalies and upper-level easterly
wind anomalies continued across the western and central equatorial Pacific (Table T1, Figs. T20, T21). Meanwhile,
enhanced convection persisted across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific
and suppressed convection was observed across Indonesia and western equatorial
Pacific (Figs. T25,
E3). Collectively, these oceanic
and atmospheric anomalies are consistent with 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