Tropical
Highlights – May 2013
During May 2013, the sea surface temperatures (SSTs) remained near-average across the equatorial Pacific except over
the far eastern equatorial Pacific (Fig. T18, Table T2). The latest monthly Niño indices were -0.3°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 May, the equatorial low-level easterly trade winds remained stronger
than average over the western 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