June 2014 Climate Briefing: El Niño Likely to Develop this Summer     Posted by Justin Grieser on June 20, 2014
     From the June climate briefing, given by IRI’s Chief Forecaster Tony Barnston:
 [h=3]Tony Barnston provides an overview of the briefing  [h=3]Changes from last month’s briefing 
	
The  IRI/CPC probabilistic ENSO forecast issued mid-June 2014. Note that  bars indicate likelihood of El Niño occurring, not its potential  strength. Unlike the official ENSO forecast issued at the beginning of  each month, IRI and CPC issue this updated forecast based solely on  model outputs. The official forecast, available at  
http://1.usa.gov/1j9gA8b, incorporates human judgement.
 
As the northern hemisphere summer gets  underway, the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) shows signs  of borderline neutral/weak El Niño conditions in the equatorial Pacific.  However, conditions in the atmosphere remain ENSO-neutral. The Niño3.4  sea-surface temperature anomaly was +0.4ºC last week, just shy of the  +0.5ºC threshold indicative of El Niño conditions and 0.1ºC lower than  the anomaly seen in early May.
 The 
IRI’s June ENSO forecast predicts  a 60% chance of El Niño developing during the current June-August  season, and a 75-80% chance by mid-autumn. These probabilities are a  slight increase from the 
IRI’s May forecast, but marginally lower than 
NOAA/IRI’s forecast issued June 5.
 The main reason these probabilities have not increased is the 
lack of atmospheric involvement in response to the ocean and in further nudging the ocean toward an El Niño state. Sea surface temperature anomalies  are strongly positive in the eastern Pacific, which has already  caused El Niño-like weather impacts along the coast of Peru. However,  the Niño3.4 anomalies remain closer to normal compared to the warmer  western and eastern portions of the Pacific basin.
 The lack of a gradient in sea surface temperature anomalies is 
discouraging development of steadier wind flow from Indonesia from pushing the warm waters of the western Pacific eastward, which would be expected during developing El Niño conditions.
 Although the atmosphere is lagging behind the El Niño-like sea  surface temperature pattern, Chief IRI Forecaster Tony Barnston expects a  stronger atmospheric response in the next one to three months. “Many El  Niño events develop this way, where the atmosphere takes longer than  the ocean to play ball,” he said.
 While the likelihood of an El Niño developing by mid-autumn has  increased, model forecasts are still uncertain about the strength of the  event. Most models are predicting a moderate El Niño, with a slightly  greater chance of a weak event than a strong one.
 [h=3]Effects of El Niño on global seasonal climate forecasts  [h=4]
There’s a strong tilt of the  odds toward low precipitation in Indonesia and northern South  America…During the northern hemisphere autumn, above-normal rainfall is  likely in southeastern South America and the greater Horn of Africa.  Each month, IRI issues seasonal climate  forecasts for the entire globe. These forecasts, which take into  account the latest ENSO projections, indicate which areas are more  likely to see above or below normal temperatures and rainfall. The  latest forecasts show a moderate to high climate impact in areas most  directly affected by ENSO events. 
 For the upcoming July-September season, Barnston noted there is a  “strong tilt of the odds toward low precipitation in Indonesia and  northern South America” compared with IRI’s May forecast. During the  northern hemisphere autumn, above-normal rainfall is likely in  southeastern South America and the greater Horn of Africa.
 
Scientists should know more each month about the chances for El Niño, its potential strength, and the climate impacts. Sign up here to get notified when the next forecast is issued, and in the meantime, check out #IRIforecast or use #ENSOQandA on Twitter to ask your El Niño questions. Our ENSO page has background information on links to our current forecasts.
http://iri.columbia.edu/news/june-2...riefing-el-nino-likely-to-develop-this-summer