The influence of the southern oscillation on the winter climate of Nuevo Leon state, Mexico
Main Article Content
Abstract
The influence of the Southern Oscillation on the winter climate of the State of Nuevo Leon, Mexico is discussed. The study uses correlation analysis of mean temperature, rainfall, upper-air soundings, and an index of the Southern Oscillation defined as low for anomalously low/high pressure at Tahiti/Darwin. The results show a significant increase of winter rainfall and a tendency to lower temperatures in much of the state, especially to the windward side of the Sierra Madre Oriental during the low Southern Oscillation phase or El Nino events. Negative geopotential height anomalies at 850 mb were also found in the coastal region of the Gulf of Mexico during these events. These results are attributed to a coupled influence of “Norte” invasions in the Gulf coast area, and the enhanced mid-latitude westerlies over Mexico typical of El Niño years. The Southern Oscillation influences the winter climate of Nuevo Leon, with modulating influences of regional character such as the “Nortes” and the Sierra Madre Oriental.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
ACEITUNO, P., 1989. On the functioning of the Southern Oscillation in the South American sector. Part II: Upper-air circulation. J. Climate, 2, 341-355. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(1989)002<0341:OTFOTS>2.0.CO;2
ANONYMOUS, 1963. A brief climatography of Mexico. Weatherwise, 16, 230-236. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00431672.1963.9927008
CAVAZOS, T. and S. HASTENRATH, 1990. Convection and rainfall over Mexico and their modulation by the Southern Oscillation. Int. J. Climatol., 10, 377-386. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.3370100405
CAVAZOS, T. and V. MOLINA, 1993. Registros climatológicos de Ia Región Citrícola de Nuevo León. Boletin Técnico # 1, Fac. de Ciencias Forestales, U. A. N. L., 66 pp.
DOUGLAS, A. V. and P. J. ENGLEHART, 1981. On a statistical relationship between autumn rainfall in the central equatorial Pacific and subsequent winter precipitation in Florida. Mon. Wea. Rev., 109, 2377-2382. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1981)109<2377:OASRBA>2.0.CO;2
FITZJARRALD, D. R., 1986. Slope winds in Veracruz. J. Appl. Meteor., 25, 133-144. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(1986)025<0133:SWIV>2.0.CO;2
HASTENRATH, S., 1988. Climate and circulation of the tropics. Reidel, Dordrecht, 455 pp.
HOREL, J. D. and J. M. WALLACE, 1981. Planetary-scale atmospheric phenomena associated with El Niño-Southern Oscillation. Mon. Wea. Rev., 109, 813-829. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1981)109<0813:PSAPAW>2.0.CO;2
KILADIS, G. N. and H. F. DIAZ, 1989. Global climatic anomalies associated with extremes in the Southern Oscillation. J. Climate, 2, 1069-1090. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(1989)002<1069:GCAAWE>2.0.CO;2
MOSIÑO, P. and E. GARCIA, 1974. The climate of Mexico, in Bryson, R. A. and F. H. Hare (eds). Climates of North America, World· Survey of Climatology, Vol. 11, Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 345-390.
QUENOUILLE, M. H., 1952. Associated measurements. Butterworths, London, 242 pp.
ROGERS, J. C., 1988. Precipitation variability over the Caribbean and tropical Americas associated with the Southern Oscillation. J. Climate, 1, 172-182. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(1988)001<0172:PVOTCA>2.0.CO;2
ROPELEWSKI, C. and M. S. HALPERT, 1986. North American precipitation and temperature patterns associated with the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Mon. Wea. Rev., 114, 2352-2362. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1986)114<2352:NAPATP>2.0.CO;2
ROPELEWSKI, D. and M. S. HALPERT, 1989. Precipitation patterns associated with the high index phase of the Southern Oscillation. J. Climate, 2, 268-284. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(1989)002<0268:PPAWTH>2.0.CO;2
S.P.P., 1986. Síntesis geográfica de Nuevo Leon. Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática. México, 170 pp.
WALLACE, J. M. and D. S. GUTZLER, 1981. Teleconnections in the geopotential height field during the Northern Hemisphere winter. Mon. Wea. Rev., 109, 784-812. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1981)109<0784:TITGHF>2.0.CO;2
US WEATHER BUREAU, ESSA, NOAA, 1957-1987. Monthly Climatic Data for the World, 1957-1986. National Climatic Center, Asheville, NC.
YARNAL, B. and H. F. DIAZ, 1986. Relationships between extremes of the Southern oscillation and the winter climate of the Anglo-American Pacific-Coast. J. Climatol., 6, 197-219. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.3370060208