El Niño/La Niña Update (December 2006)

An El Niño event is now established across the tropical Pacific basin. Conditions  since the last update in September have reinforced the event. Sea surface  temperatures across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific were about 1 to  1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than usual during October, at levels typical of many  El Niño events in the historical record. This El Niño event is expected to  continue at least into the first quarter of 2007.