Relationship of ENSO to snowfall and related cyclone activity in the contiguous United States

Kunkel, Kenneth E.; Angel, James R.

doi:10.1029/1999jd900010

Cited by 60 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…There were more southwesterly and deepening low events during EN years (38% and 10%, respectively) than in NEU years (24% and 5%, respectively), which would be consistent with the predominance of the negative PNA pattern [troughing (ridging) over the western (eastern) US -see Keables et al 1992 andChern (1995)] over the US during these years. More NEU year events which produce heavier snow fall events during the NPO1 time period is also consistent with the results of Kunkel and Angel (1999). Also, fewer, but deeper, EN snowfall producing events found here are consistent with those of Martins and Smith (2003), and the time period they study mostly contains the NPO1 period.…”

Section: B Long Term Trendssupporting

confidence: 82%

“…There was little trend in the total number of snowfall events in spite of a general increase in precipitation (Hu et al, 1998;Karl and Knight, 1998) Midwest region as well. Kunkel and Angel (1999) found that strong LN years produced more snowfall over the mid-Missouri region. Thus, examining the type of snowfall events that occur in this region may bridge the gap between the results of this study and the published results described above.…”

Section: B Long Term Trendsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A statistical analysis was performed in order to find long and short-term trends and study the seasonal and intraseasonal variability, as well as interannual variability in snowfall occurrences and their relationship to ENSO and NPO variability. This study will extend similar studies such as Kunkel and Angel (1999) and Smith and O'Brien (2001) by examining the climatological character of snowfall events in this region, and by examining and classifying the climatological occurrence of snowfall producing flow regimes. A synoptic climatology of the snowfall producing regimes for the lower Midwestern region of the country is unique to this study.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, identifying the common climatic, synoptic-, and meso-scale patterns that produce heavy snowfall is essential for the improvement of heavy snowfall forecasting. Some studies (e.g., Kunkel and Angel, 1999;Smith and O'Brien, 2001) have examined the interannual variability in snowfall amounts for various regions of the country. The Smith and O'Brien (2001) study did not extend into the NWMO region, but do discuss adjacent regions of the country, while the Kunkel and Angel (1999) does extend across this study region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some studies (e.g., Kunkel and Angel, 1999;Smith and O'Brien, 2001) have examined the interannual variability in snowfall amounts for various regions of the country. The Smith and O'Brien (2001) study did not extend into the NWMO region, but do discuss adjacent regions of the country, while the Kunkel and Angel (1999) does extend across this study region. There have been a few recent local studies that discuss the climatological (e.g., Metze et al 1998;Berger et al, 1999) characteristics of snowfalls in NWMO.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Climatology of Northwest Missouri Snowfall Events: Long-Term Trends and Interannual Variability

et al. 2002

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The goal of this study was to develop a 50-year statistical climatology of snowfall occurrences using data from a dense network of cooperative station observations covering northwest and central Missouri, and these records were provided by the Missouri Climate Center.This included a study of the long term trends and interannual variability in snowfall occurrence as related to sea surface temperature variations in the Pacific Ocean basin associated with the El Nin o and Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the North Pacific Oscillation (NPO). These trends and variations were then related to four synoptic-scale flow regimes that produce these snowfalls in the Midwest. The results demonstrate that during the snowfall season (Oct -April) the northwest Missouri region can expect about eight snowfall events which produce three or more inches of accumulation. While no significant long-term trend in overall snowfall occurrence was found, a decrease in the number of extreme events (10 or more inches) was noted. Also, fewer snowfall events were found during El Nin o years, while more heavy snowfall events occurred during "neutral" years, and these results could be related to synoptic-scale variability. A closer examination of the results demonstrated that El Nin o/La Nin a related variability in snowfall occurrence was superimposed on longer-term NPO-related variability. [Interannual Variability, snowfalls, climatology, El Nin o]

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Section: B Long Term Trendssupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: B Long Term Trendsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Climatology of Northwest Missouri Snowfall Events: Long-Term Trends and Interannual Variability

et al. 2002

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Role of extreme snowfall events in interannual variability of snowfall accumulation in the western United States

Lute

Abatzoglou

2014

Water Resources Research

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Water resources in the western United States are contingent on interannual variations in snowpack. Interannual snowpack variability has been attributed to large-scale climate patterns including the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), however, the contribution of snowfall frequency and extreme snowfall events to this variability are less well quantified. Long-term records from Snowpack Telemetry and Cooperative Observer Program stations in the 11 western states were used to investigate these relationships by considering the number of snowfall days and snowfall water equivalent (SFE) of extreme snowfall events. The top decile of snowfall events contributed 20-38% of annual SFE, depending on the region. An average of 65% and 69% of the interannual variability in annual SFE was explained by snowfall days and SFE of top decile snowfall events, respectively, with extreme events being a more significant predictor at most stations. The latitudinal dipole in SFE during ENSO phases results from changes in snowfall frequency and extreme events. In the Pacific Northwest, above normal SFE during La Niña winters was a product of both larger contributions from extremes and more snowfall days, while below normal SFE during El Niño winters was primarily associated with a substantial reduction in extremes. Conversely, annual SFE during ENSO phases in the mountains of Arizona was more closely linked to fluctuations in snowfall days than extremes. Results indicate the importance of extreme snowfall events in shaping interannual variability in water resources and suggest that improved predictive ability may inform better water resource management now and in the coming decades.

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Winter precipitation variability and corresponding teleconnections over the northeastern United States

Ning

Bradley

2014

J. Geophys. Res. Atmos.

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The variability of winter precipitation over the northeastern United States and the corresponding teleconnections with five dominant large-scale modes of climate variability (Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, AMO; North Atlantic Oscillation, NAO; Pacific-North American pattern, PNA; Pacific Decadal Oscillation, PDO; and El Niño-Southern Oscillation, ENSO) were systemically analyzed in this study. Three leading patterns of winter precipitation were first generated by empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis. The correlation analysis shows that the first pattern is significantly correlated with PNA and PDO, the second pattern is significantly correlated with NAO and AMO, and the third pattern is significantly correlated with ENSO, PNA, and PDO. To verify the physical sense of the EOF patterns and their correlations, composite analysis was applied to the precipitation anomalies, which reproduced the three EOF spatial patterns. Multiple linear regression models generated using indices of all five modes of climate variability show higher explained variances. Composite analyses of geopotential height, sea level pressure, relative humidity, and moisture flux field were performed to find the physical mechanisms behind the teleconnections. When the findings are applied to the extreme drought of the 1960s, it is found that besides a continuous negative NAO pattern, a negative PNA pattern and La Niña conditions also contributed to the drought of winter season by influencing moisture flux and the position of storm tracks. Another case, the 2009/2010 winter with positive precipitation anomalies over the coastal region, is found to be resulted from circulation patterns dominated by major El Niño condition with high-PNA and PDO indices.

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Relationship of ENSO to snowfall and related cyclone activity in the contiguous United States

Abstract: Mexico was above normal during E1 Nifio events and below normal during La Nifia events. In this paper, we examine the relationship of ENSO to snowfall for the entire United States, expanding on these earlier regional studies. Data and Methods of Analysis

Cited by 60 publications

References 14 publications

A Climatology of Northwest Missouri Snowfall Events: Long-Term Trends and Interannual Variability

A Climatology of Northwest Missouri Snowfall Events: Long-Term Trends and Interannual Variability

Role of extreme snowfall events in interannual variability of snowfall accumulation in the western United States

Winter precipitation variability and corresponding teleconnections over the northeastern United States

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