El Nino’s Warm Water Pool in Pacific Is Back to Near Normal
The El Nino warm water pool in the tropical Pacific Ocean has shrunk back to a near-normal state, according to the latest image released Friday from NASA’s Topex-Poseidon satellite.
The remnants of the pool are now situated to the north and south of the equator, according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
The image from March 14 shows the sea surface height, an indicator of heat in the ocean, moving back toward normal, about the level observed last spring.
However, scientists note that temperatures are still well above normal and are expected to stay high through April and May.
That means that the warm water’s ability to be an engine for storms will persist.
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