scholarly journals Summer aridity in the United States: Response to mid-Holocene changes in insolation and sea surface temperature

2006 ◽  
Vol 33 (22) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noah S. Diffenbaugh ◽  
Moetasim Ashfaq ◽  
Bryan Shuman ◽  
John W. Williams ◽  
Patrick J. Bartlein
2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 1221-1234
Author(s):  
Matthew B. Switanek ◽  
Joseph J. Barsugli ◽  
Michael Scheuerer ◽  
Thomas M. Hamill

AbstractMonthly tropical sea surface temperature (SST) data are used as predictors to make statistical forecasts of cold season (November–March) precipitation and temperature for the contiguous United States. Through the use of the combined-lead sea surface temperature (CLSST) model, predictive information is discovered not just in recent SSTs but also from SSTs up to 18 months prior. We find that CLSST cold season forecast anomaly correlation skill is higher than that of the North American Multimodel Ensemble (NMME) and the SEAS5 model from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) when averaged over the United States for both precipitation and 2-m air temperature. The precipitation forecast skill obtained by CLSST in parts of the Intermountain West is of particular interest because of its implications for water resources. In those regions, CLSST dramatically improves the skill over that of the dynamical model ensembles, which can be attributed to a robust statistical response of precipitation in this region to SST anomalies from the previous year in the tropical Pacific.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. eaaw9950 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-E. Chu ◽  
A. Timmermann ◽  
J.-Y. Lee

Annual tornado occurrences over North America display large interannual variability and a statistical linkage to sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies. However, the underlying physical mechanisms for this connection and its modulation in a rapidly varying seasonal environment still remain elusive. Using tornado data over the United States from 1954 to 2016 in combination with SST-forced atmospheric general circulation models, we show a robust dynamical linkage between global SST conditions in April, the emergence of the Pacific-North American teleconnection pattern (PNA), and the year-to-year tornado activity in the Southern Great Plains (SGP) region of the United States. Contrasting previous studies, we find that only in April SST-driven atmospheric circulation anomalies can effectively control the northward moisture-laden flow from the Gulf of Mexico, boosting low-level moisture flux convergence over the SGP. These strong large-scale connections are absent in other months because of the strong seasonality of the PNA and background moisture conditions.


1981 ◽  
Vol 62 (12) ◽  
pp. 1666-1675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Adem ◽  
William L. Donn

A long-range forecasting technique, based on a physical model that emphasizes thermodynamics, is applied to the prediction of anomalies of temperature and precipitation for the Northern Hemisphere. Monthly forecasts are initialized with the sea surface temperature, 700 mb temperature and surface albedo, including variable snow-ice conditions. Application to the hot spell and drought in the summer of 1980 for the contiguous United States shows very encouraging skill when verified for the standard 100-station NOAA grid.


2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 426-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cherie A. Keller ◽  
Leslie I. Ward-Geiger ◽  
William B. Brooks ◽  
Christopher K. Slay ◽  
Cynthia R. Taylor ◽  
...  

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