ENSO seasonality: 1950-78 versus 1979-92

Abstract

ENSO-related seasonal-to-interannual variability in the Pacific basin is documented together with satellite-based estimates of rainfall and mean tropospheric temperature. Composite SST, wind, and rainfall fields for the warm and cold seasons that fall within typical warm and cold ENSO episodes are also presented. SST and zonal wind anomalies were quite comparable in strength in the warm and cold seasons, although the distributions were somewhat different. Rainfall anomalies and the associated anomalies in surface wind convergence and mean tropospheric temperature were much stronger during the warm season than during the cold season.