I recently found this site which shows a very detailed satellite analysis of global sea surface temperatures. The sight also shows the sea surface temperature anomalies compared to the 1971-2000 base period. What I like about this analysis compared to the ones I have used in the past is that the "normal" zones are much more visible. With the old maps it almost seemed like you were looking at anomalies that were either above or below and nothing in between.

Let's compare the latest anomaly to the past two years (data only goes back to 2006) on the same date........

August 24th, 2008

August 24th, 2007

August 24th, 2006

Some of my own observations:

--In the equatorial Pacific you can see notable changes over the past two years...Currently, the el nino southern Oscillation (ENSO) is neutral, and you can see that by the analysis. Last year at this time, there was clearly a band of cooler water compared to normal off of South America into the equatorial Pacific, which is indicative of La Nina ENSO conditions. In August of 2006, the water stretching out into the equatorial Pacific was warmer than normal, indicating a weak El Nino look.

--There is a large area of warmer than normal sea surface water over the northwest Pacific currently. That was also evident back in August of 2006. Also, note the large pocket of cooler water over the central Pacific and along the west coast of Canada which resembles the cool phase of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO).

--Currently, much of the Atlantic tropical cyclone breeding ground region is experiencing slightly warmer to near-normal sea surface temperatures.