Tropical
Highlights – February 2020
During February
2020, sea surface
temperatures (SSTs) remained above-average across much
of the equatorial Pacific (Fig. T18, Table T2). The latest
monthly
Niño indices were +0.3°C for the Niño 1+2
region, +0.4°C
for the Niño 3.4 region and +1.1°C for the Niño 4 region (Table T2, Fig. T5). The depth of
the oceanic thermocline (measured by the depth of the 20°C isotherm) was above-average
across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific (Figs. T15, T16). The corresponding sub-surface
temperatures were 1-3°C above average in the central and eastern equatorial
Pacific (Fig. T17).
Also during February, the
lower-level easterly winds were weaker than average (indicated by westerly
anomalies) over the western equatorial Pacific (Table T1, Fig. T20).
The upper-level westerly winds were stronger than average across the central
and eastern equatorial Pacific (Table T1, Fig. T21). Meanwhile, tropical convection was enhanced around
the Date Line and suppressed over Indonesia (Figs. T25, E3). Collectively, these oceanic and
atmospheric anomalies were consistent with 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