Tropical
Highlights - November 2021
During November
2021, sea surface
temperatures (SSTs) were below-average across much
of the equatorial Pacific (Fig. T18). The latest monthly Niņo indices were -1.0°C for
the Niņo 1+2 region, -0.9°C for the Niņo 3.4 region and -0.6°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 the eastern equatorial Pacific (Figs. T15,
T16). The
corresponding sub-surface temperatures were 1-6°C below-average (Fig. T17).
Also during November, the
lower-level easterly winds and the upper-level westerly winds were above-average
over most of the equatorial Pacific (Table
T1, Fig. T20, Fig. T21). Meanwhile,
tropical convection was suppressed over the central and western equatorial
Pacific and 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