Tropical
Highlights – May 2012
ENSO-neutral conditions continued during May
2012, as reflected by the near-average sea surface
temperature (SST) across the central and
east-central equatorial Pacific. Meanwhile, SSTs in the eastern equatorial
Pacific continued to be warmer-than-average during the month (Fig. T18, Table T2). The latest monthly Niño indices were -0.1°C for
the Niño 3.4 region and +1.2°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
in the east-central equatorial Pacific and above-average in the far eastern
equatorial Pacific (Figs. T15, T16).
Also during
May, the equatorial low-level easterly trade winds remained slightly
above-average over the central and west-central equatorial Pacific (Table T1, Fig. T20). Enhanced
convection was seen across Indonesia and Papua New Guinea (Figs. T25, E3). Collectively, these oceanic and
atmospheric anomalies reflect 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