Tenth Month of Pacific's 'La Nada' Limbo

The latest image of sea surface heights in the Pacific Ocean from NASA's Jason-1 satellite shows that the equatorial Pacific Ocean is now in its 10th month of being locked in what some call a neutral, or "La Nada" state. "La Nadas" make long-range climate forecasting more difficult due to their greater unpredictability. Yellows and reds indicate areas where waters are relatively warmer and have expanded above normal sea level, while blues and purple areas show where waters are relatively colder and sea level is lower than normal. Green indicates near-normal sea level conditions.

Image credit: NASA-JPL/Caltech/Ocean Surface Topography Team