06 March 2013
El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
- The Tropical Pacific Ocean is slightly cooler than normal along the Equator to the east of the Dateline, and warmer than normal in the Western Pacific Warm Pool.
- Atmospheric circulation is close to normal for this time of year, and neutral ENSO conditions exist at present.
- The international consensus is for neutral ENSO conditions to persist throughout the Southern Hemisphere autumn.
The South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ)
- For the coming three months, the SPCZ is forecast to be slightly south of normal for most of the southwest Pacific.
Multi-model Ensemble Tool for Pacific Island (METPI) rainfall and sea surface temperature forecasts
- Below normal rainfall is forecast for the Marquesas and the Northern Cook Islands.
- Normal or below normal rainfall is forecast the Tuamotu archipelago, Tuvalu, Eastern Kiribati and Western Kiribati and Tokelau.
- Near or above normal rainfall is forecast for the Federated States of Micronesia, Pitcairn Island and Tonga.
- Sea surface temperatures are forecast to be cooler than normal for Eastern Kiribati and the Marquesas.
