The relation between circulation intensity in the temperate latitude cyclone and air temperature and precipitation anomalies

The relationship between air temperature, precipitation, and circulation intensity in extratropical cyclones at subsequent stages of their evolution is studied. The cyclones observed in the Atlantic and Pacific sectors in winters from 1991 to 2000 are considered. The NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data, GPCP database, and cyclone trajectory archive of the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, are used. It is demonstrated that there are significant connections between circulation intensity, air temperature, and precipitation in cyclones. The intensity of circulation along the cyclone contour reflects both the precipitation fall in the cyclone center and a synoptic structure of frontal precipitation. It was concluded that speed circulation along the cyclone contour can be recommended as a characteristic of cyclone intensity together with the currently used pressure in the cyclone center.     

A composite study of the MJO influence on the surface air temperature and precipitation over the Continental United States

The influence of the MJO on the continental United States (CONUS) surface air temperature (SAT) and precipitation is examined based on 30?years of daily data from 1979–2008. Composites are constructed for each of the eight phases of the Wheeler-Hendon MJO index over 12 overlapping three-month seasons. To ensure that the MJO signal is distinguished from other patterns of climate variability, several steps are taken: (a) only days classified as “MJO events” are used in the composites, (b) statistical significance of associated composites is assessed using a Monte Carlo procedure, and (c) intraseasonal frequencies are matched to the unfiltered data. Composites of other fields are also shown in order to examine how the SAT and precipitation anomalies are associated with large-scale circulations providing a link between the tropics and extratropics. The strongest and most significant MJO effects on SAT are found during the northern winter seasons. When enhanced convection is located over the equatorial Indian Ocean, below-average SAT tends to occur in New England and the Great Lakes region. As enhanced tropical convection shifts over the Maritime continent, above-average SAT appears in the eastern states of the US from Maine to Florida. The MJO influence on precipitation is also significant during northern winter seasons. When enhanced convection is located over the Maritime continent, more precipitation is observed in the central plains of the US. Enhanced precipitation also occurs over the west coast of the US when convective activity is stronger over the Indian Ocean. During the northern summer and fall, the MJO impact on precipitation is mainly significant at lower latitudes, over Mexico and southeastern US.     

Evaluation of high-resolution simulations of daily-scale temperature and precipitation over the United States

Extreme climate events have been increasing over much of the world, and dynamical models predict further increases in response to enhanced greenhouse forcing. We examine the ability of a high-resolution nested climate model, RegCM3, to capture the statistics of daily-scale temperature and precipitation events over the conterminous United States, using observational and reanalysis data for comparison. Our analyses reveal that RegCM3 captures the pattern of mean, interannual variability, and trend in the tails of the daily temperature and precipitation distributions. However, consistent biases do exist, including wet biases in the topographically-complex regions of the western United States and hot biases in the southern and central United States. The biases in heavy precipitation in the western United States are associated with excessively strong surface and low-level winds. The biases in daily-scale temperature and precipitation in the southcentral United States are at least partially driven by biases in circulation and moisture fields. Further, the areas of agreement and disagreement with the observational data are not intuitive from analyzing the simulated mean seasonal temperature and precipitation fields alone. Our evaluation should enable more informed application and improvement of high-resolution climate models for the study of future changes in socially- and economically-relevant temperature and precipitation events.     

Variation in summer surface air temperature over Northeast Asia and its associated circulation anomalies

This study investigates the interannual variation of summer surface air temperature over Northeast Asia(NEA) and its associated circulation anomalies.Two leading modes for the temperature variability over NEA are obtained by EOF analysis.The first EOF mode is characterized by a homogeneous temperature anomaly over NEA and therefore is called the NEA mode.This anomaly extends from southeast of Lake Baikal to Japan,with a central area in Northeast China.The second EOF mode is characterized by a seesaw pattern,showing a contrasting distribution between East Asia(specifically including the Changbai Mountains in Northeast China,Korea,and Japan) and north of this region.This mode is named the East Asia(EA) mode.Both modes contribute equivalently to the temperature variability in EA.The two leading modes are associated with different circulation anomalies.A warm NEA mode is associated with a positive geopotential height anomaly over NEA and thus a weakened upper-tropospheric westerly jet.On the other hand,a warm EA mode is related to a positive height anomaly over EA and a northward displaced jet.In addition,the NEA mode tends to be related to the Eurasian teleconnection pattern,while the EA mode is associated with the East Asia-Pacific/PacificJapan pattern.     

Spuriously induced temperature trends in the Southeast United States

Summary This study uses correlation and multiple regression techniques to document differences in annual temperature trends between the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) Climate Division Database (CDD) and the United States Historical Climate Network (USHCN) for the Southeast United States. Results indicate that an increase (decrease) in elevation and a northward (southward) shift in mean station location in the CDD correspond with decreases (increases) in temperature. Although the movement of station locations in the CDD showed only modest impacts on trends, the effects of the movements are statistically significant, and explain some of the variances in the temperature trends. Results therefore suggest that climate divisions with more rugged terrain and greater shifts in elevation are more susceptible to spuriously generated trends.     

Anticyclonic quasi-stationary circulation and its effect on air temperature anomalies and extremes over western Russia

Episodes of anticyclonic quasi-stationary circulation (AQC) are defined as sufficiently prolonged episodes during which the anticyclone overlaps a certain geographical domain. An algorithm for the identification of the AQC is described, and AQC numerical characteristics are introduced. A comparison with other blocking indices is presented. Analysis is presented for the geographic distribution of AQC frequencies in the Atlantic-European region, connections between air temperature anomalies (extremes) and different regimes, temporal variations of AQC characteristics, and accompanying changes in the frequency of temperature extremes in western regions of Russia in the last decades of the 20th century.     

Decadal prediction skill for Eurasian surface air temperature in CMIP6 models

评估CMIP6年代际预测试验对季节平均SAT的预测技巧的结果表明:模式不能有效预测冬季和秋季SAT的年代际变率.IPSL-CM6A-LR和多模式集合平均对于春季SAT展现了预测技巧,其中对于变率的预测技巧好于振幅的结果.基于蒙古和我国华北地区的显著预测技巧,模式对于夏季SAT表现出最佳的预测水平.与外部强迫相比,模式对于SAT的预测技巧可能来自初始化.模式中的一个明显系统性误差值得注意,即模式中冬季SAT的变率可以持续到其他季节,而在观测中其他季节的SAT变化与冬季SAT相对独立.     

Explicit and parameterized episodes of warm-season precipitation over the continental United States

This paper describes explicit and parameterized simulations of midsummer precipitation over the continental United States for two distinct episodes： moderate large-scale forcing and weak forcing. The objective is to demonstrate the capability of explicit convection at currently affordable grid-resolution and compare it with parameterized realizations. Under moderate forcing, 3-kin grid-resolution explicit simulations represent rainfall coherence remarkably well. The observed daily convective generation near the Continental Divide and the subsequent organization and propagation are reproduced qualitatively. The propagation speed, zonal extent and duration of the rainfall streaks compare favorably with their observed counterparts, although the streak frequency is underestimated. The simulations at -10-km grid-resolution applying conventional convective parameterization schemes also replicate reasonably well the diurnal convective regeneration in moderate forcing. The performance of the 3-km grid-resolution model demonstrates the potential of -1-km-resolution explicit cloud-resolving models for the prediction of warm season precipitation for moderately forced environments. In weak forcing conditions, however, predictions of precipitation coherence and diurnal variability are much poorer. This suggests that an even finer resolution explicit model is required to adequately treat convective initiation and upscale organization typical of the warm season over the continental U.S.     

Characterizing the distribution of observed precipitation and runoff over the continental United States

This paper describes the development of a comprehensive geographic database of historical precipitation and runoff measurements for the conterminous U.S. The database is used in a spatial analysis to characterize large scale precipitation and runoff patterns and to assess the utility and limitations of using historical hydro-meteorological data for providing spatially distributed precipitation estimates at regional and continental scales. Long-term annual average precipitation (P) and runoff (Q) surfaces (geographically referenced, digital representations of a continuous spatial distribution) generated from interpolation of point measurements are used in a distributed water balance calculation to check the reliability of precipitation estimates. The resulting input-output values (P- Q) illustrate the deficiency (sparse distribution and low elevation bias) of historical precipitation measurements in the mountainous western U.S. where snowmelt is an important component of the annual runoff. The incorporation of high elevation snow measurements into the precipitation record significantly improves the water balance estimates in some areas and enhances the utility of historical data for providing spatially distributed precipitation estimates in topographically diverse regions. Regions where the use of historical precipitation data may be most limited for precipitation estimation are identified and alternatives to the use of interpolated historical data for precipitation estimation across large heterogenous regions are suggested. The research establishes a database for continental scale studies and provides direction for the successful development of spatially distributed regional scale water balance models.     

A 1951–80 global land precipitation climatology for the evaluation of general circulation models

Previous evaluations of model precipitation fields have suffered from two weaknesses; they have used only mean observed climatologies which have prevented an explicit evaluation of interannual variability, and they have generally failed to quantify the significance of differences between model and observed fields. To rectify these weaknesses, a global precipitation climatology is required which is designed with model evaluation in mind. This paper describes such a climatology representative of the period 1951–80. The climatology is based on historical gauge-precipitation measurements from over 2500 land-based station time series representing over 28% of the Earth's surface. It is necessarily biased towards terrestrial areas. The climatology (CRU5180) is derived from month-by-month gridbox precipitation estimates at 5° resolution. Although other global precipitation climatologies exist, this is the first one to have used a consistent reference period for each station, and to include the details of interannual variability. Fields of mean seasonal and annual precipitation and mean temporal variability are presented, and the variability of global-mean precipitation over 1951–80 assessed. The resulting mean monthly global precipitation fields are compared briefly with two other observed climatologies used for model evaluation, those prepared by Jaeger and Legates and Willmott. The global and hemispheric means, mean seasonal cycles, and spatial patterns of the three cimatologies are compared. Although based on a smaller set of stations than Legates and Willmott, the CRU5180 precipitation estimates agree closely with their uncorrected climatology.     

The impact of decadal fluctuations in mean precipitation and temperature on runoff: A sensitivity study over the United States

The nature of climate variability is such that decadal fluctuations in average temperature (up to 1 °C annually or 2 °C seasonally) and precipitation (approximately 10% annually), have occurred in most areas of the United States during the modern climate record (the last 60 years). The impact of these fluctuations on runoff was investigated, using data from 82 streams across the United States that had minimal human interference in natural flows. The effects of recent temperature fluctuations on streamflow are minimal, but the impact of relatively small fluctuations in precipitation (about 10%) are often amplified by a factor of two or more, depending on basin and climate characteristics. This result is particularly significant with respect to predicted changes in temperature due to the greenhouse effect. It appears that without reliable predictions of precipitation changes across drainage basins, little confidence can be placed in hypothesized effects of the warming on annual runoff.     

Spatial and temporal characteristics of intraseasonal oscillations of precipitation over the United States

Summary  This study shows that precipitation over the United States has two time scales of intraseasonal variation at about 37 days and 24 days. The results are derived from the application of a combination of statistical methods including principal component analysis (PCA), singular spectrum analysis (SSA), and multi-channel singular spectrum analysis (MSSA) to over 10 years of gridded daily precipitation records. Both oscillations have largest amplitude during the cold season. The 37-day oscillation has larger interannual variability. Intraseasonal oscillations are most significant in the Pacific Northwest. The 37-day oscillation has opposite phases between the western and eastern United States, while the 24-day oscillation has the same phases. These intraseasonal time scale precipitation variations may be associated with previously revealed mid-tropospheric circulation anomalies that oscillate at similar time scales. Received February 7, 2000 Revised October 20, 2000     

Numerical simulations of anomalies of precipitation and surface air temperature in china in the summer of 1997

1.IntroductionStatisticalstudiesdemonstratedthatinEINinoyearstheprecipitationinsummerintheChangjiangRiverandHuaiheRiverBasinsisprobablyabovethenormalwhileitispossiblybelowthenormalinthenorthernChinaandtheHetao(theGreatBendoftheHuangheRiver)region.ThetemperatureinsummerisusuallylowerthannormalinEastAsia,especiallyinNortheastChina.Therewere6yearswithseverelowtemperaturesince1951,andtheyare1954,1957,1964,1972,1976and1983,whichareallrelatedtotheEINinoyears(seeHuangetal.,1989,1992;Xiangand…     

Inter-annual temperature and precipitation variations over the Litani Basin in response to atmospheric circulation patterns

This study examines the sensitivity of a mid-size basin’s temperature and precipitation response to different global and regional climate circulation patterns. The implication of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), El Ni?o Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Indian Monsoon and ten other teleconnection patterns of the Northern Hemisphere are investigated. A methodology to generate a basin-scale, long-term monthly surface temperature and precipitation time series has been established using different statistical tests. The Litani River Basin is the focus of this study. It is located in Lebanon, east of the Mediterranean Basin, which is known to have diverse geophysical and environmental characteristics. It was selected to explore the influence of the diverse physical and topographical features on its hydroclimatological response to global and regional climate patterns. We also examine the opportunity of conducting related studies in areas with limited long-term measured climate and/or hydrological data. Litani's monthly precipitation and temperature data have been collected and statistically extrapolated using remotely sensed data products from satellites and as well as in situ gauges. Correlations between 13 different teleconnection indices and the basin’s precipitation and temperature series are investigated. The study shows that some of the annual and seasonal temperature and precipitation variance can be partially associated with many atmospheric circulation patterns. This would give the opportunity to relate the natural climate variability with the watershed’s hydroclimatology performance and thus differentiate it from other anthropogenic induced climate change outcomes.     

玉林6月份降水异常及其环流形势分析

利用1961~2013年玉林地区五个台站6月份降水资料及NCEP/NCAR月平均再分析资料,分析了玉林地区6月降水的异常及其环流形势特征。结果表明:玉林地区6月降水年际变化明显,总的降水趋势变化不明显;降水异常偏多年,南亚高压和西太平洋副高都偏弱,500h Pa垂直运动偏强,高层辐散和低层辐合增强,低层水汽通量辐合增强,都有利于降水的发生;少雨年则相反。     

中国冬季气温月际变化特征及其对大气环流异常的响应

基于1951—2014年中国160站月气温和NCEP/NCAR再分析资料,利用季节的经验正交函数分解（S-EOF）等方法,研究了中国冬季气温月际变化的时、空演变特征及其对大气环流异常的响应。结果表明,中国冬季气温在月尺度上常常出现前、后冬相反甚至冷暖交替的现象。中国冬季气温月际变化存在3个主模态:全冬一致型、前后反相型和冷暖交替型。当西伯利亚高压冬季一致偏强（偏弱）时,冬季一致冷（暖）;当海陆热力差异由强变弱、西伯利亚高压强度由强变弱,东亚西风急流比较稳定,强度偏强,位置由南向北移动时,冬季前冷后暖;当大气环流发生突变,尤其是海平面气压场和500 hPa位势高度场上大气活动中心的频繁调整,西伯利亚高压强度在月时间尺度上强弱交替时,冬季气温呈冷—暖—冷交替变化。      

中国西南地区春季降水的时空变化及其异常的环流特征

利用中国气象局国家气象信息中心整编的中国西南地区97站逐日观测资料及美国国家环境预报中心/大气研究中心(NCEP/NCAR)再分析资料,对中国西南地区1961—2013年春季降水的时空分布特征进行了分析,并研究了造成西南地区春季降水异常的环流成因。结果表明,中国西南地区春季降水的主模态呈现为全区一致型,该模态具有明显的2.5—3.5a及准5a的活动周期。对流层中低层副热带地区的异常气旋式环流波列形成的异常气流将洋面上空的水汽向中国西南内陆地区输送,暖湿气流与异常活跃的北方冷空气活动相配合,加上西南地区大气低层辐合、高层辐散而产生抽吸作用,使得当地对流层中低层出现较强的沿地形抬升的上升气流,从而有利于西南地区降水的形成,反之亦然。造成环流异常的原因除了与西南地区、热带地区的异常辐合/辐散运动造成的位涡扰动能量有关,亦与中高纬度波扰动能量下欧亚大陆下游地区的频散及辐合有关。此外,冬季1月的青藏高原地面加热场特征可作为预测后期西南地区春季降水异常变化的一个前期信号。     

Change trends of air temperature and precipitation over Shanxi Province, China

A dataset of air temperature and precipitation time series (1959?C2008) from 61 stations across Shanxi, China is used to analyze the climate change. The monotonic trends and step (abrupt) trends for annual and seasonal series data of mean air temperature and total precipitation are tested by using Mann?CKendall test and Mann?CWhitney test, respectively. The results show that annual mean air temperature has increased by 1.20°C during the past 50?years. Winter, spring, and autumn have experienced a significant increase in air temperature. The step trend for annual mean air temperature is different from, but closely related with, those for seasonal mean air temperature. Spatially, there is an enhanced warming trend from south to north in Shanxi, and the most remarkable warming occurs in northern Shanxi. Annual precipitation has decreased by 99.20?mm during the past half century. The decrease is mainly caused by precipitation decline in rainy season (June?CSeptember), though precipitation in post-rainy season (October?CNovember) also tended to decrease. An abrupt decrease in precipitation has occurred since late 1970s. Decrease in precipitation is highest in central Shanxi and in the area along the west fringe between Sanchuan River and Fenhe River in western Shanxi.