Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Empirical And Modeling Analyses Of The Circulation Influences On California Precipitation Deficits, Yen-Heng Lin, Lawrence E. Hipps, Shih-Yu (Simon) Wang, Jin-Ho Yoon

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

Amplified and persistent ridges in western North America are recurring features associated with drought conditions in California. The recent drought event (2012–2016) lasted through both La Niña and El Niño episodes, suggesting additional climate drivers are important in addition to the commonly perceived El Niño-Southern Oscillation. Diagnostic analyses presented here suggest that, while the Pacific North American (PNA) and North Pacific Oscillation (NPO) do not directly cause drought in California, the relationships between them and with the upper air circulation pattern do modulate the spatial drought pattern. The positive PNA relative circulation leads drier northern California, and (-NPO) relative circulation …