I’ve moved to WordPress. This post can now be found at PRELIMINARY August 2010 SST Anomaly Update
############The August 2010 SST data through the NOAA NOMADS website won’t be official for at least another week. Refer to the schedule on the NOAA Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature Analysis Frequently Asked Questions webpage. The following are the preliminary Global and NINO3.4 SST anomalies for August 2010 presented by the NOMADS website. I’ve also included the weekly data through August 25, 2010, but I’ve shortened the span of the weekly data, starting it in January 2004, so that the wiggles are visible.
Also included at the end of the post are a comparison of the evolution of the 2010/11 La Niña to past La Niña events and a comparison of 1998 and 2010 global SST anomalies.
PRELIMINARY MONTHLY DATA
Based on the preliminary data, monthly NINO3.4 SST anomalies are continuing to drop, and the drop has them well into La Niña territory.
http://i38.tinypic.com/fx9ov8.jpgMonthly NINO3.4 SST Anomalies
Monthly Global SST anomalies, according to the preliminary data, are stalled, changing only -0.01 deg C this month. This can happen after El Niño events. Refer to the comparison of 1998 and 2010 Global SST anomalies that follows.
http://i37.tinypic.com/jaamvp.jpgMonthly Global SST Anomalies
WEEKLY DATA
The weekly NINO3.4 SST anomaly data have dropped significantly over the past week. They are now below -1.5 deg C.
http://i37.tinypic.com/x3iscm.jpgWeekly NINO3.4 SST Anomalies
Weekly Global SST Anomalies are still flat. There are some minor wiggles, but the Global SST anomalies are still lagging the drop in NINO3.4 SST anomalies.
http://i34.tinypic.com/2eead1z.jpgWeekly Global SST Anomalies
COMPARISON OF LA NIÑA EVOLUTIONS
As of the week centered on August 25, 2010, the 2010 NINO3.4 SST anomalies have not yet dropped below the low levels of the 1988/89 La Niña.
http://i38.tinypic.com/2u6lmv8.jpgLa Niña Evolution Comparison
COMPARISON OF 2010 GLOBAL SST ANOMALIES TO 1998
The following comparison graph shows that 2010 SST anomalies are not above 1998 levels. The weekly global SST anomalies are noisy, so I’ve also shown them smoothed with a 5-week running-average filter.
http://i34.tinypic.com/xddqiv.jpg1998 And 2010 Global SST Anomaly Comparison
SOURCES
SST anomaly data is available through the NOAA NOMADS website:
http://nomad1.ncep.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/pdisp_sst.sh
or:
http://nomad3.ncep.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/pdisp_sst.sh?lite=
