Tropical
Highlights - October 2020
During October
2020, sea surface
temperatures (SSTs) remained below-average across the
central and eastern equatorial Pacific (Fig.
T18). The latest monthly Niņo indices were -1.2°C for
the Niņo 1+2 region, -1.4°C for the Niņo 3.4 region and -0.8°C for the Niņo 4 region (Fig. T5, Table T2). The depth of
the oceanic thermocline (measured by the depth of the 20°C isotherm) was below-average
across much of the eastern equatorial Pacific (Figs. T15,
T16). The
corresponding sub-surface temperatures were 1-6°C below-average in the eastern
equatorial Pacific (Fig. T17).
Also during October, the
lower-level easterly winds and the upper-level westerly winds were both above-average
across much of the equatorial Pacific (Fig.
T20, Fig. T21). Meanwhile,
tropical convection was suppressed across the western and central equatorial
Pacific, and was enhanced over Indonesia (Figs.
T25, E3).
Collectively, these oceanic and atmospheric anomalies were consistent with La
Niņa 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