Modulation of the Pacific Meridional Mode on the Dipole Pattern of the CONUS Summertime Precipitation
Abstract Historically, the precipitation trend over the past few decades in the Contiguous United States (CONUS) exhibits a “Dry‐West Wet‐East” pattern; this is manifested by recent droughts/floods in the western/eastern US. However, it remains elusive what atmospheric phenomenon has potentially dri...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2024-07-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL109636 |
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| author | Grace Affram Wei Zhang Vittal Hari Si Gao Cody Ratterman Langfeng Zhu Robert R. Gillies |
| author_facet | Grace Affram Wei Zhang Vittal Hari Si Gao Cody Ratterman Langfeng Zhu Robert R. Gillies |
| author_sort | Grace Affram |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Historically, the precipitation trend over the past few decades in the Contiguous United States (CONUS) exhibits a “Dry‐West Wet‐East” pattern; this is manifested by recent droughts/floods in the western/eastern US. However, it remains elusive what atmospheric phenomenon has potentially driven such a remarkable, and impactful precipitation pattern. Here we found that a coupled climate mode—the Pacific Meridional Mode (PMM) exerted strong impacts on the precipitation pattern over the CONUS during the summer season. We discovered a significant association between the PMM index and precipitation across the majority of the CONUS; this was manifested as a zonal dipole pattern—negative correlations in the western U.S. along with positive correlations in the eastern and central U.S. Overall, the physical mechanisms based on observations were supported by using Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project simulations available from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6ef5cd0fb7d54b7a8f1c3d9946fd2cd9 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-07-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-6ef5cd0fb7d54b7a8f1c3d9946fd2cd92025-08-20T02:46:06ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072024-07-015113n/an/a10.1029/2024GL109636Modulation of the Pacific Meridional Mode on the Dipole Pattern of the CONUS Summertime PrecipitationGrace Affram0Wei Zhang1Vittal Hari2Si Gao3Cody Ratterman4Langfeng Zhu5Robert R. Gillies6Department of Plants, Soils & Climate Utah State University Logan UT USADepartment of Plants, Soils & Climate Utah State University Logan UT USADepartment of Environmental Science and Engineering Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) Dhanbad Dhanbad Jharkhand IndiaSchool of Atmospheric Sciences Key Laboratory of Tropical Atmosphere‐Ocean System Ministry of Education Sun Yat‐Sen University Zhuhai ChinaDepartment of Plants, Soils & Climate Utah State University Logan UT USASchool of Atmospheric Sciences Key Laboratory of Tropical Atmosphere‐Ocean System Ministry of Education Sun Yat‐Sen University Zhuhai ChinaUtah Climate Center Utah State University Logan UT USAAbstract Historically, the precipitation trend over the past few decades in the Contiguous United States (CONUS) exhibits a “Dry‐West Wet‐East” pattern; this is manifested by recent droughts/floods in the western/eastern US. However, it remains elusive what atmospheric phenomenon has potentially driven such a remarkable, and impactful precipitation pattern. Here we found that a coupled climate mode—the Pacific Meridional Mode (PMM) exerted strong impacts on the precipitation pattern over the CONUS during the summer season. We discovered a significant association between the PMM index and precipitation across the majority of the CONUS; this was manifested as a zonal dipole pattern—negative correlations in the western U.S. along with positive correlations in the eastern and central U.S. Overall, the physical mechanisms based on observations were supported by using Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project simulations available from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL109636droughtfloodsContiguous United StatesprecipitationPacific Meridional ModeENSO |
| spellingShingle | Grace Affram Wei Zhang Vittal Hari Si Gao Cody Ratterman Langfeng Zhu Robert R. Gillies Modulation of the Pacific Meridional Mode on the Dipole Pattern of the CONUS Summertime Precipitation Geophysical Research Letters drought floods Contiguous United States precipitation Pacific Meridional Mode ENSO |
| title | Modulation of the Pacific Meridional Mode on the Dipole Pattern of the CONUS Summertime Precipitation |
| title_full | Modulation of the Pacific Meridional Mode on the Dipole Pattern of the CONUS Summertime Precipitation |
| title_fullStr | Modulation of the Pacific Meridional Mode on the Dipole Pattern of the CONUS Summertime Precipitation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Modulation of the Pacific Meridional Mode on the Dipole Pattern of the CONUS Summertime Precipitation |
| title_short | Modulation of the Pacific Meridional Mode on the Dipole Pattern of the CONUS Summertime Precipitation |
| title_sort | modulation of the pacific meridional mode on the dipole pattern of the conus summertime precipitation |
| topic | drought floods Contiguous United States precipitation Pacific Meridional Mode ENSO |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL109636 |
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