Characteristics of Snowfall over the Eastern Half of the United States and Relationships with Principal Modes of Low-Frequency Atmospheric Variability

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Monthly data from 206 stations for the period 1947–93 are used to examine characteristics of snowfall over the eastern half of the United States and relationships with precipitation and the maximum temperature on precipitation days. Linkages between snowfall and modes of low-frequency circulation variability are diagnosed through composite analyses, based on results from a rotated Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of monthly 500-hPa geopotential height. Results are examined for the 2-month windows of November–December, January–February, and March–April. The three dominant PCAs for each window capture regional components of the Pacific–North American (PNA), Tropical-Northern Hemisphere (TNH), and east Pacific (EP) teleconnection patterns. Two general snowfall regimes are identified: 1) the dry and cold upper midwest, Nebraska and Kansas, where snowfall is strongly a function of precipitation; and 2) the Midwest, southeast, and northeast, where snowfall is more closely tied to the mean maximum tem... Abstract Monthly data from 206 stations for the period 1947–93 are used to examine characteristics of snowfall over the eastern half of the United States and relationships with precipitation and the maximum temperature on precipitation days. Linkages between snowfall and modes of low-frequency circulation variability are diagnosed through composite analyses, based on results from a rotated Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of monthly 500-hPa geopotential height. Results are examined for the 2-month windows of November–December, January–February, and March–April. The three dominant PCAs for each window capture regional components of the Pacific–North American (PNA), Tropical-Northern Hemisphere (TNH), and east Pacific (EP) teleconnection patterns. Two general snowfall regimes are identified: 1) the dry and cold upper midwest, Nebraska and Kansas, where snowfall is strongly a function of precipitation; and 2) the Midwest, southeast, and northeast, where snowfall is more closely tied to the mean maximum tem...