Summertime Surges over the Gulf of California: Aspects of Their Climatology, Mean Structure, and Evolution from Radiosonde, NCEP Reanalysis, and Rainfall Data

Douglas, Michael W.; Leal, Juan Carlos

doi:10.1175/1520-0434(2003)018<0055:ssotgo>2.0.co;2

Cited by 53 publications

(128 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…An important result evident in Fig. 7 is that the MJO-related precipitation anomalies do not extend into New Mexico yet southwest New Mexico clearly experiences the monsoon-type climate (e.g., Douglas et al 1993). If the MJO affects the NAM through gulf surges, then this result is consistent with the idea that both the Gulf of California and the Gulf of Mexico are important moisture sources for NAM precipitation (Adams and Comrie 1997).…”

Section: Time Evolutionsupporting

confidence: 75%

“…As noted in previous studies (Stensrud et al 1997;Fuller and Stensrud 2000;Douglas and Leal 2003), gulf surges are sometimes associated with the passage of easterly waves over Mexico several days earlier, although the details of how easterly waves trigger a gulf surge are not clear (Stensrud et al 1997). A time-lagged regression of meridional wind on the SAZ index provides evidence suggesting a connection between SAZ precipitation and easterly waves.…”

Section: Mechanismmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…Previous studies have already documented the important role of easterly waves off the coast of Mexico in triggering a gulf surge (Stensrud et al 1997;Fuller and Stensrud 2000;Douglas and Leal 2003). The westerly phase of the MJO may increase monsoon precipitation by amplifying easterly waves in the region critical for triggering the development of a gulf surge.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…It is associated with a dramatic increase in precipitation over what is normally an arid region of North America (Douglas et al 1993;Adams and Comrie 1997). This study seeks to better understand processes that control intraseasonal variability of monsoon precipitation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Effect of the MJO on the North American Monsoon*

2006

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The effect of the Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO) in the eastern Pacific on the North American monsoon is documented using NCEP-NCAR reanalysis and daily mean precipitation data from 1958 to 2003. It is found that positive zonal wind anomalies in the eastern tropical Pacific lead to above-normal precipitation in northwest Mexico and Arizona from several days to over a week later. This connection between the tropical Pacific and monsoon precipitation appears to be limited to regions influenced by moisture surges from the Gulf of California as a similar connection does not exist for New Mexico precipitation. The evidence suggests that the MJO might affect monsoon precipitation by modulating the strength of low-level easterly waves off the coast of Mexico, which in turn triggers the development of a gulf surge.

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Section: Time Evolutionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Section: Mechanismmentioning

confidence: 67%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Effect of the MJO on the North American Monsoon*

2006

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“…Although studies have observed the presence of diurnal low-level jets over the Gulf of California (Douglas 1995;Douglas et al 1998;Bordoni et al 2004), the most influential transport mechanism for the core monsoon region is the gulf surge (Hales 1972(Hales , 1974Brenner 1974;McCollum et al 1995;Stensrud et al 1995Stensrud et al , 1997Fuller and Stensrud 2000;Douglas and Leal 2003;Rogers and Johnson 2007;Bordoni and Stevens 2006). A gulf surge is a coastally trapped wavelike disturbance that travels northward over the Gulf of California.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship between Tropical Easterly Waves and Precipitation during the North American Monsoon

Ladwig

Stensrud

2009

Journal of Climate

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Relationships between tropical easterly waves (TEWs) and precipitation over Mexico and the United States are examined during the North American monsoon (NAM). The National Centers for Environmental Prediction-National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis data are used to identify 137 TEWs that cross Mexico north of 208N after monsoon onset over a 31-yr period from 1975 to 2005. Mean precipitation anomalies over two-day periods both before and after TEW passage are determined using Climate Prediction Center daily precipitation analyses. Results indicate that positive precipitation anomalies occur along the west coast of Mexico and extending into the west-central United States in association with TEW passage. Negative precipitation anomalies are found in the south-central United States. These precipitation anomaly patterns share many similarities to precipitation anomaly patterns previously defined in association with gulf surge events. On longer time scales, correlations between the total number of these northern TEWs crossing Mexico and 90-day monsoon period precipitation anomalies are also examined. An out-of-phase relationship is found between monsoon period precipitation anomalies in the southwestern and south-central United States, suggesting that increasing the number of northern TEWs crossing Mexico leads to enhanced monsoon period rainfall in Arizona and New Mexico and reduced monsoon period rainfall in Texas and Oklahoma. Thus, these northern TEWs likely play an important role in producing the distribution of precipitation throughout the NAM region and the south-central United States during the monsoon season, and extendedrange predictions of northern TEW frequency may lead to improved seasonal rainfall anomaly forecasts in these regions.

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A partial mechanistic understanding of the North American monsoon

Erfani

Mitchell

2014

JGR Atmospheres

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An understanding of the major governing processes of North American monsoon (NAM) is necessary to guide improvement in global and regional climate modeling of the NAM, as well as NAM's impacts on the summer circulation, precipitation, and drought over North America. A mechanistic understanding of the NAM is suggested by incorporating local-and synoptic-scale processes. The local-scale mechanism describes the effect of the temperature inversion over the Gulf of California (GC) on controlling low-level moisture during the 2004 NAM. The strong low-level inversion inhibits the exchange between the moist air in the marine boundary layer (MBL) and the overlying dry air. This inversion weakens with increasing sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in GC and generally disappears once SSTs exceed 29.5°C, allowing the moist air, trapped in the MBL, to mix with free tropospheric air. This leads to a deep, moist layer that can be transported by across-gulf (along-gulf) flow toward the NAM core region (southwestern U.S.) to form thunderstorms. On the synoptic scale, climatologies from 1983 to 2010 exhibit a temporal correspondence between coastal warm tropical surface water, NAM deep convection, NAM anticyclone center, and NAM-induced strong descent. A hypothesis is proposed to explain this correspondence, based on limited soundings at the GC entrance (suggesting this local mechanism may also be active in that region), the climatologies, and the relevant literature. The warmest SSTs moving up the coast may initiate NAM convection and atmospheric heating, advancing the position of the anticyclone and the region of descent northward.

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Summertime Surges over the Gulf of California: Aspects of Their Climatology, Mean Structure, and Evolution from Radiosonde, NCEP Reanalysis, and Rainfall Data

Cited by 53 publications

References 12 publications

The Effect of the MJO on the North American Monsoon*

The Effect of the MJO on the North American Monsoon*

Relationship between Tropical Easterly Waves and Precipitation during the North American Monsoon

A partial mechanistic understanding of the North American monsoon

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