19 JUNE 1998. CALIFORNIA:
OCEANOGRAPHY AND FISHERIES U.S. West Coast Oceanography and Fisheries---Excerpts
from the "NOAA/NESDIS El Nino Watch Advisory 98-5, May 1998: Despite the
continued breakdown of El Nino conditions in the equatorial Pacific, residual
effects are expected to keep local sea surface temperatures (SSTs) slightly
above normal off much of the U.S. West Coast through the summer. At the
equatorial Pacific in May, sea surface temperatures returned to normal
west of 110 degrees longitude, but warmer than normal waters still remain
in coastal waters from Baja north to Vancouver. In May, the Pacific Northwest
showed little change in SSTs from the previous month (2 deg F above normal)
and the central California coast cooled only a degree (to 2 deg F above
normal). Southern California waters experienced increased warming to 3-4
degrees F above normal for May. Upwelling from central California south
to Baja was well below normal, which may account for residual warming of
waters off southern California. Toward the end of the month, good catches
of albacore were being made just 40 miles west and southwest of San Diego,
and were also reported off Morro Bay. Good salmon fishing was reported
along the northern portion of the southern California Bight following periods
of strong winds that cooled water temperatures, and good salmon fishing
was also reported off central California during May. VIA S.E. Smith susan.smith@noaa.gov.
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1997 El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO 97-98)