Current SST anomaly - Eastern Pacific

The current SST anomalies are shown in this map (from NOAA's Earth Systems Resource Lab).  As of late September, we are currently at the lower right, showing a marked shift back to cool surface water temps in the Eastern Pacific, particularly from 120W to 80W.  Stronger signals for higher seasonal precipitation for the northwestern US (NDJF) are associated with the SST pattern coupled with current phases of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and the Aleutian Low Pressure Index.