Tropical
Highlights - August 2014
During August
2014, sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were near-average over the east-central equatorial Pacific and
above-average over the west-central and eastern equatorial Pacific (Fig. T18, Table
T2). The latest monthly
Niņo indices were +0.2°C for the Niņo 3.4 region
and +1.3°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) was above-average over much of the
equatorial Pacific (Figs. T15, T16), with corresponding
sub-surface temperatures being 1-2°C above average (Fig. T17).
Also
during August, the low-level easterly trade winds remained near-average across
the western and west-central equatorial Pacific (Table T1, Fig. T20).
Meanwhile, suppressed tropical convection was observed over the western
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
www.nws.noaa.gov
