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El Nino warm episode observed by TRMM


These figures indicate the variation of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) related to an El Nino warm episode and corresponding rainfall distribution in February 1998.

This panel shows estimated accumulated monthly rainfall at 2.0 km height derived from PR. Heavy rainfall regions were observed in the Southern Hemisphere which was in the summer season in this figure. Zonal heavy rainfall regions along the equator correspond to the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) . In a normal year, heavy rainfall regions are located around the western tropical Pacific, but in February 1998, the maximum rainfall region over the equatorial Pacific moved east of date line, around 150W at the equator. The El Nino warm episode is supposed to have influenced this shift. Also, there were no rain observations in the Tibetan Plateau, the Rocky Mountains and the Andes because those regions are highlands where the altitude exceeds 2.0 km.


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