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El Nino 2023-2024


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In addition to a suggested warm bias of the Euro ensemble and probably some other models, the current subsurface is another reason to feel that a super Nino is only at a low chance.

 The current subsurface has the warmest anomaly below Nino 3.4 at just over +3 C. I'll call it +3.25. That's a good indicator of impending El Niño:

82D43DD1-F419-4923-9361-3A7A17832507.thumb.png.66ce60f6c67cdfb07dbd81f5a7d34ef1.png

 

But, compare this to those at this time of year before both the 2015 and 1997 super Ninos:

2015: warmest anomaly near +5.5 C:

879F001E-3FFD-4520-8684-0B93ABAC2DCB.png.d5d89730fd4abb14a4cd9a1fe4c75739.png


1997: warmest anomaly near +6 C:

94836E04-2E3A-44B9-A103-B3A86DF46781.png.e67c27f5a6048ae6160ce24e5bf00ff8.png
 

 So, whereas a significant El Niño is still likely based on the subsurface below Nino 3.4, a super Nino is not being suggested based on the subsurface comparisons of warmest of +3.25 now vs +5.5 in 2015 at this time and +6 in 1997 at this time.

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27 minutes ago, GaWx said:

In addition to a suggested warm bias of the Euro ensemble and probably some other models, the current subsurface is another reason to feel that a super Nino is only at a low chance.

 The current subsurface has the warmest anomaly below Nino 3.4 at just over +3 C. I'll call it +3.25. That's a good indicator of impending El Niño:

82D43DD1-F419-4923-9361-3A7A17832507.thumb.png.66ce60f6c67cdfb07dbd81f5a7d34ef1.png

 

But, compare this to those at this time of year before both the 2015 and 1997 super Ninos:

2015: warmest anomaly near +5.5 C:

879F001E-3FFD-4520-8684-0B93ABAC2DCB.png.d5d89730fd4abb14a4cd9a1fe4c75739.png


1997: warmest anomaly near +6 C:

94836E04-2E3A-44B9-A103-B3A86DF46781.png.e67c27f5a6048ae6160ce24e5bf00ff8.png
 

 So, whereas a significant El Niño is still likely based on the subsurface below Nino 3.4, a super Nino is not being suggested based on the subsurface comparisons of warmest of +3.25 now vs +5.5 in 2015 at this time and +6 in 1997 at this time.

 

Looks like subsurface has been cooling over the past few weeks. +4 maybe +5 now down to a max of +4 at 175W centered on April 3. 

Yours is more up to date, and you have it down to +3.25. 

And it also looks more west-based this time than previous super ninos, at least under the surface. We'll see how that propagates...

 

900615806_Screenshot2023-04-12at3_40_58PM.thumb.png.dcc630c8903317d2e815ff45b073f630.png

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37 minutes ago, 40/70 Benchmark said:

Wonder why this source is different...

ERDDAP - cciea_OC_PDO_a799_03f3_37d4 (noaa.gov)

Coastal sections of Northern California had their 2nd coldest March on record. I have been using NOAA. The coastal bouy off San Diego recorded its lowest SST on record. So the trades have been slow to relax back to the Central Pacific with this pattern. Notice how the WWBs are further west near Indonesia instead of closer to 180. So the subsurface near Dateline is much less impressive than years like 2015 and 1997 as GaWx posted yesterday.
 

 https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/pdo/

 

 

 

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Don’t have that one. But NOAA came in at -2.35 for March. Lowest March reading since 1956.
 
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/cmb/ersst/v5/index/ersst.v5.pdo.dat
 
 

All the models are showing a strong El Niño along with a -PDO for this upcoming winter. If that’s actually what happens, good luck finding analogs….maybe 72-73? But that was in a totally different climate era, pre AGW…
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51 minutes ago, snowman19 said:


All the models are showing a strong El Niño along with a -PDO for this upcoming winter. If that’s actually what happens, good luck finding analogs….maybe 72-73? But that was in a totally different climate era, pre AGW…

We would expect the -PDO to weaken from these -2 values should the El Niño actually become strong. But even a neutral to -1 PDO with a moderate to strong El Niño could displace the Nino +PNA ridge over to the Northeast. These  seasonal model forecasts don’t have that much long range skill. So the El Niño and PDO values will have to wait. Plus the models have really struggled with El Niño forecasts since 2012. 
 

2012-2013 El Niño never developed due to strong -PDO and trades

2014-2015 El Niño much weaker than forecast 

2015-2016 forecast was pretty good

2017-2018 El Niño was but forecast never developed 

2018-2019 El Niño never coupled 

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We would expect the -PDO to weaken from these -2 values should the El Niño actually become strong. But even a neutral to -1 PDO with a moderate to strong El Niño could displace the Nino +PNA ridge over to the Northeast. These  seasonal model forecasts don’t have that much long range skill. So the El Niño and PDO values will have to wait. Plus the models have really struggled with El Niño forecasts since 2012. 
 
2012-2013 El Niño never developed due to strong -PDO and trades
2014-2015 El Niño much weaker than forecast 
2015-2016 forecast was pretty good
2017-2018 El Niño was but forecast never developed 
2018-2019 El Niño never coupled 

The models absolutely nailed 15-16 and they did it early on too. It was actually a great job. I remember all the deep denials about how the models were severely overdoing the strength, it was going to fall apart, it was never going to reach super status, it was going to peak in August, then it was going to peak in September, it was going to be a Modoki, it was going to be west-based, it was weakening…..The wishcasts back then were truly a sight to behold. Joe Bastardi was the worst out of all of them. The fool actually used 57-58, 02-03 and 09-10 as his “analogs”
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51 minutes ago, snowman19 said:


The models absolutely nailed 15-16 and they did it early on too. It was actually a great job. I remember all the deep denials about how the models were severely overdoing the strength, it was going to fall apart, it was never going to reach super status, it was going to peak in August, then it was going to peak in September, it was going to be a Modoki.

I guess part of the problem is that people were doubting the strength based on the previous winter forecast being so far off. Also never had a 2nd year El Niño super event since 1950. We technically got some Modoki-like west based forcing with the biggest snowstorm on record in NYC during January. Then the first below 0° since 1994. 

A8C0D757-5488-476E-87DA-BDEC9A75F3B0.gif.147e30e1cb1715b09225b1f78265a44a.gif

 

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The different PDO indexes use slightly different input and formulas for the calculations. I like the Nate Mantua index more because it has considerations regarding biological observations. It's kind of like how the Koppen classification was designed to explain why plant life and animal life changes in certain environments over very small areas.

Hitting 90F in NYC at least a month earlier than the 100-year average (5/29) is a good sign for an El Nino historically. Most of the following winters have fierce cold snaps for large areas of the US. We're right between 1977/2002 with the 90F today. 

2010 04-07 (2010) 92 09-08 (2010) 90 153
1991 04-08 (1991) 90 09-17 (1991) 93 161
1977 04-12 (1977) 90 09-03 (1977) 90 143
2002 04-16 (2002) 92 09-10 (2002) 90 146
1976 04-17 (1976) 91 08-23 (1976) 90 127
2009 04-26 (2009) 92 08-19 (2009) 90 114
1962 04-27 (1962) 91 08-20 (1962) 91 114
1990 04-27 (1990) 91 08-27 (1990) 90 121
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 Compared to past April ENSO outlooks, the CPC is more confident in El Niño in ASO than in all other years since 2003 with 2002 being close based on JJA:

- 2023: (was 61% in March): 82%.     
2019: (false alarm to continue): 55%
- 2018: 37%
- 2017 (false alarm models 89%): 50%
- 2015: 64%
- 2014: 61%
- 2012 (later false alarm): 35%
- 2011: 25%
- 2009: 30%
- 2006: 30%
- 2005: 40%
- 2004: 40%  
- 2002: 70% in JJA

So, in order of CPC confidence of El Niño in ASO as of April:

2023, 2002, 2015, 2014, 2019, 2017, 2004/2005, 2018, 2012, 2006/2009, 2011

Edit: This doesn't mean that it is necessarily predicting the strongest El Niño of this period. Rather, it is a function of the high confidence of El Niño forming and forming early.

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13 hours ago, raindancewx said:

The different PDO indexes use slightly different input and formulas for the calculations. I like the Nate Mantua index more because it has considerations regarding biological observations. It's kind of like how the Koppen classification was designed to explain why plant life and animal life changes in certain environments over very small areas.

Hitting 90F in NYC at least a month earlier than the 100-year average (5/29) is a good sign for an El Nino historically. Most of the following winters have fierce cold snaps for large areas of the US. We're right between 1977/2002 with the 90F today. 

2010 04-07 (2010) 92 09-08 (2010) 90 153
1991 04-08 (1991) 90 09-17 (1991) 93 161
1977 04-12 (1977) 90 09-03 (1977) 90 143
2002 04-16 (2002) 92 09-10 (2002) 90 146
1976 04-17 (1976) 91 08-23 (1976) 90 127
2009 04-26 (2009) 92 08-19 (2009) 90 114
1962 04-27 (1962) 91 08-20 (1962) 91 114
1990 04-27 (1990) 91 08-27 (1990) 90 121

Raindance, could you please provide me with the link that you use to access the PDO data?

Thanks.

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17 hours ago, bluewave said:

I guess part of the problem is that people were doubting the strength based on the previous winter forecast being so far off. Also never had a 2nd year El Niño super event since 1950. We technically got some Modoki-like west based forcing with the biggest snowstorm on record in NYC during January. Then the first below 0° since 1994. 

By looking at your posts, I can gather we could be looking at a 2 year El Nino event (variation differences since 2007/8 or 13)(unpredictability)? I have a +PNA signal for the next 4 Winters general/combined.. 

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On 4/13/2023 at 12:54 PM, bluewave said:

Coastal sections of Northern California had their 2nd coldest March on record. I have been using NOAA. The coastal bouy off San Diego recorded its lowest SST on record. So the trades have been slow to relax back to the Central Pacific with this pattern. Notice how the WWBs are further west near Indonesia instead of closer to 180. So the subsurface near Dateline is much less impressive than years like 2015 and 1997 as GaWx posted yesterday.

I would definitely expect +PNA to even this out... We have been in this +/- swing thing for a while. 

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1 hour ago, snowman19 said:

This definitely is not looking anything like the El Niño fails of the past 2 decades, it means business. A Bjerknes feedback loop is going to get established, which will keep strengthening and reinforcing the Nino Walker circulation

What strength do you forecast this Nino to peak at?

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Nate is retiring from doing the PDO stuff, but he sent me this awhile ago, along with some other people - I removed his contact info. You guys are jumping the gun on the El Nino strength stuff. Just wait til May. You almost never get Nino 3.4 warmer than May in the following winter - and it's never been more 0.4C warmer. It's not some great mystery why the predictability barrier ends in late Spring.

I will no longer be providing PDO index updates. You can get monthly updates for PDO index values based on NOAA's Extended Reconstructed SST (ERSST Version 5) from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center: https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/GODAS/multiora/index/mnth.ersstv5.clim19912020.pdo_current.txt
 
Access to more information about the PDO, including updated graphics, is available from NOAA's Physical Sciences Lab:
https://psl.noaa.gov/pdo/
 
best wishes, 
Nate
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nate Mantua
NOAA/NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center
Santa Cruz, CA
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