Atlantic and Eastern Pacific SSTs

June 14, 2001

20-3

Provided by: NOAA
Summary authors & editors: Jim Foster

The above is a composite satellite image made from the Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite (POES). It shows sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and the eastern Pacific Ocean on June 12, 2001. The coldest (gray and magenta) open water temperatures (between 0 and 10 degrees C or 32 to 50 degrees F) are found in the vicinity of Greenland and Iceland - Hudson Bay is still mostly ice covered at this time. Cold, dense water is being pushed down along the coast of eastern Canada and the northeastern US by the Labrador Current. The warmest (red) temperatures (about 30 degrees C or 86 degrees F) are found just off of the west coast of Central America. Notice that the Atlantic Ocean to the west of Africa is still rather cool, between 20 to 25 degrees C or about 68 to 77 degrees F. Hurricanes are unlikely to form in this area until the SSTs approach 30 degrees C. Also, notice that off of the southeast coast of the US, the Gulf Stream can be seen punching into the cooler waters of the North Atlantic Ocean.

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