No abstract

An interannual variability mode in the southeast Pacific with a physical interpretation similar to that of the Pacific meridional mode (PMM) in the North Pacific was recently identified. Both modes have been shown to influence the subsequent development of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. This study investigates the relationship between ENSO and the two PMMs using observational and reanalysis data. The results show that the South Pacific meridional mode (SPMM) mainly favors the development of sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) in the eastern equatorial Pacific, whereas the North Pacific meridional mode (NPMM) mainly favors the development of SSTAs in the central equatorial Pacific. Both of the meridional modes are considered to be analogous in terms of their physical interpretation and can be important predictors of ENSO when considering different flavors of ENSO. Neither the NPMM nor the SPMM can be precluded as accurate indicators when forecasting particular flavors of ENSO.

At the beginning of 2014, an El Niño event was predicted to occur in the following winter. However, the El Niño that started to develop in 2014 was hindered in the boreal summer, and only the ocean reached a weak El Niño condition. This outcome was largely attributed to a suppressed ocean‐atmosphere interaction caused by anomalous easterly winds in the eastern equatorial Pacific. These winds were related to negative sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) in the southeastern subtropical Pacific (SESP). The negative phase of the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) laid the foundation for the persistence of cooler SSTAs and enhanced trade winds in the SESP after the year 2000. As the recent IPO downward trend continued, the SSTAs in SESP reached an extremely low value in the boreal summer of 2014 and imposed a serious obstacle to the evolution of a warming event.

After the quick decaying of the 2015 super El Niño, the predicted La Niña unexpectedly failed to materialize to the anticipated standard in 2016. Diagnostic analyses, as well as numerical experiments, showed that this ENSO evolution of the 2015 super El Niño and the hindered 2016 La Niña may be essentially caused by sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs) in the subtropical Pacific. The self-sustaining SSTAs in the subtropical Pacific tend to weaken the trade winds during boreal spring–summer, leading to anomalous westerlies along the equatorial region over a period of more than one season. Such long-lasting wind anomalies provide an essential requirement for ENSO formation, particularly before a positive Bjerknes feedback is thoroughly built up between the oceanic and atmospheric states. Besides the 2015 super El Niño and the hindered La Niña in 2016, there were several other El Niño and La Niña events that cannot be explained only by the oceanic heat content in the equatorial Pacific. However, the questions related to those eccentric El Niño and La Niña events can be well explained by suitable SSTAs in the subtropical Pacific. Thus, the leading SSTAs in the subtropical Pacific can be treated as an independent indicator for ENSO prediction, on the basis of the oceanic heat content inherent in the equatorial region. Because ENSO events have become more uncertain under the background of global warming and the Pacific decadal oscillation during recent decades, thorough investigation of the role of the subtropical Pacific in ENSO formation is urgently needed.