Australians Mid April Update of ENSO
Details
The SST across the central and eastern tropical Pacific has been warming since February. When averaged over the month of March some cool SST anomalies are still evident across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. However, steady warming in the last four weeks has seen the weak cool anomalies disappear, with the equatorial Pacific SST currently near normal. The monthly NINO indices for March were –0.4°C, –0.2°C and –0.4°C for NINO3, NINO4 and NINO3.4 respectively.
In terms of weekly data, the most recent NINO indices are +0.3°C, +0.1°C and 0.0°C for NINO3, NINO4 and NINO3.4 respectively. Over the past two weeks all three NINO regions have warmed. NINO3 warmed the most with an increase of approximately 0.4°C, while NINO4 and NINO3.4 warmed by approximately 0.1°C and 0.3°C respectively. The 7-day SST anomaly map map shows that SST across most of the equatorial Pacific is near normal. The weak cool anomalies that had persisted across the tropical Pacific since late 2008 have warmed and dissapeared. When compared with two weeks ago, weak positive anomalies in the far east of the Pacific, near South America, have strengthened slightly. An animation of recent SST changes is available.
The sub-surface of the equatorial Pacific also warmed through March and has continued to warm through the first half of April. However, the sub-surface remains slightly cooler than the long term average in the central and eastern Pacific. This anomalously cool sub-surface water in the central and eastern tropical Pacific has persisted since September 2008. A recent map for the 5 days ending 13 April shows a large area of sub-surface warm anomalies above +1.0°C extending across the western equatorial Pacific. East of 140°W sub-surface water temperature is still generally below average, with weak anomalies below –1.0°C.
Trade winds have generally weakened through March and the first half of April. Over the last three weeks, weak anomalous westerly flow has generally dominated across the central and eastern tropical Pacific. In the last week, anomalous easterly flow has developed in the western Pacific. The latest weekly wind anomalies are shown in the TAO/TRITON map (small image above) for the five days ending 13 April.
The Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) fell sharply through March. The SOI fell from a February value of +15 to value of zero for March. The SOI has increased slightly since the start of April, with a current 30 day value of +5 on the 13 April. The Tahiti mean sea level pressure (MSLP) fell to near normal during March. Previous to March, the Tahiti MSLP had generally been above average since August 2008. The Darwin MSLP, which was below average for much of February also returned to near normal through March. (SOI graph, SOI table).
loudiness near the date-line over the central to western Pacific is another important indicator of warm/cool ENSO conditions, as it normally increases/decreases (negative OLR/positive OLR anomalies) during these episodes. Cloudiness near the date-line decreased in December, coinciding with cooling of the sea surface in the region. Cloudiness increased towards the end of February, but still remains below average.
The majority of international dynamic computer models surveyed by the Bureau of Meteorology predict a continuation of neutral conditions for the tropical Pacific until at least mid-winter. Three of the five models are predicting neutral conditions for winter and spring, while two models predict El Niño conditions to develop. The most likely outcome for the period up to mid-winter is for equatorial Pacific SSTs to warm but to remain in the neutral range. Models suggest a return to La Niña conditions is the least likely outcome. Recent forecasts from the POAMA model, run daily at the Bureau of Meteorology, predict ENSO-neutral conditions to persist through to mid-winter, but for El Niño conditions to develop from mid-winter to spring. Pacific conditions and model predictions will continue to be monitored closely for any strengthening indications of an event.
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/enso/