Tropical
Highlights - August 2016
Sea surface
temperatures (SSTs) were slightly below-average
across the east-central and eastern equatorial Pacific during August 2016 (Fig. T18, Table T2). The latest monthly Niņo indices were -0.5°C for
the Niņo 3 region, -0.5°C for the Niņo 3.4 region, and +0.4°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) remained below-average across the
central and eastern equatorial Pacific (Figs. T15,
T16), and
the corresponding sub-surface temperatures were 1-3°C below average (Fig. T17).
Also during August, the lower-level
winds were near-average across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific,
while upper-level westerly anomalies were seen to the east of the Date Line (Table T1, Figs. T20, T21). Meanwhile, suppressed
convection was observed across the western and central equatorial Pacific (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