Equatorial Pacific Microwave Sounding Unit (MSU) Precipitation Index

Averaging region: 5N-12.5S, 160E-80W
The index is monthly and spans 1979-92.

The MSU precipitation estimates are described in Spencer (1993, J. Climate, 6,, 1301-1326). The averaging region corresponds to the region of coherent ENSO-related precipitation variability in the tropical Pacific.

Click here to obtain the time series written in MATLAB format. [The timeseries is read into the variable "msuprecip" in MATLAB.] The units are mm month-1.

The units in the following table are mm month-1, and there are no data values for September through December of 1992.

       jan  feb  mar  apr  may  jun  jul  aug  sep  oct  nov  dec
 1979   -2  -45  -46  -42  -25   -5  -16  -11   -3   19  -11   11
 1980  -54  -43  -10  -31   -9    6   -8   15    2   -3   -6  -42
 1981  -48   23    2    1  -54  -23  -18  -36  -12  -21  -39  -14
 1982  -81  -47  -55  -67  -61   -2   24   53   33   56  104   96
 1983  284  207  209  138  174  102   52   22    7  -15  -26  -68
 1984 -113  -81  -36  -56  -48  -21  -19  -20  -27   -9  -21  -34
 1985  -56  -82  -51  -77  -67  -40  -43  -13  -24  -30  -20  -45
 1986  -35  -79  -81   -9  -29  -32   -6  -10   12   -5   10   74
 1987   82  124   36  130   93   64   86   50   41   55    5   63
 1988   35   16  -31  -13  -17  -42  -17  -30  -31  -23  -44  -53
 1989  -86  -68  -94  -31  -48  -36  -38  -37  -21  -15   -9  -28
 1990   -8   -3   67   -4   -2  -11  -14    1   -5  -14    2    3
 1991  -21   -5  -57  -65  -17   17   11   24   28    6   54   38
 1992  104   84  149  125  109   23    6   -8 
 

Last modified April 1996.
Todd P. Mitchell (mitchell@atmos.washington.edu)