23 Oct 97 - In late October, El Niño's warm water (marked by sea level 5 to 12 inches above normal and shown as white) spread northward along the entire coast of North America from the equator all the way to Alaska. At this time, this 'warm pool' had returned to its mid-September volume after dropping to a temporary low at the beginning of October. Sea surface elevation just north of the warm pool continued to drop (purple area), enhancing the eastward flowing North Equatorial Counter Current (NECC). Its flow contributed to the rise in sea level along the western coasts of the Americas, away from the equator.