Winter climate variability in the southern Appalachian Mountains, 1910–2017
Located in the mid‐latitudes and exhibiting the greatest topographic relief in the eastern United States, the southern Appalachian Mountains (SAM) contain some of the most diverse climatological environments in the United States. This diversity is most pronounced in the winter season when temperatur...
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crwiley:10.1002/joc.5795 2024-06-02T08:11:37+00:00 Winter climate variability in the southern Appalachian Mountains, 1910–2017 Eck, Montana A. Perry, L. Baker Soulé, Peter T. Sugg, Johnathan W. Miller, Douglas K. 2018 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/joc.5795 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fjoc.5795 https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/joc.5795 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor International Journal of Climatology volume 39, issue 1, page 206-217 ISSN 0899-8418 1097-0088 journal-article 2018 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.5795 2024-05-03T11:32:40Z Located in the mid‐latitudes and exhibiting the greatest topographic relief in the eastern United States, the southern Appalachian Mountains (SAM) contain some of the most diverse climatological environments in the United States. This diversity is most pronounced in the winter season when temperature and snowfall can vary drastically across the region. In this study, we identify long‐term trends and variation of temperature and snowfall in the SAM of the southeastern United States during climatological winter (DJF) from 1910 to 2017. Along with recognizing statistically significant climatic trends, we also identify the influence of several teleconnection patterns, namely the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) that further scientific understanding of how this region has remained a climatic anomaly. Results of this study indicate the SAM have experienced a statistically significant long‐term cooling trend since the early 20th century, with recent decades suggesting a reversal towards a warming pattern. Snowfall exhibited high interannual variability, with the 1960s and 1970s producing anomalously high amounts of snowfall. Several atmospheric forcing couplings are identified that align with anomalous conditions in the region. Most notably, negative temperature anomalies and higher snowfall amounts were frequently found during El Niño and negative NAO seasons, with the opposite being true during La Niña and positive NAO winters. The influence of these teleconnection patterns was spatially dependent, with lower elevations and eastern‐facing slopes being highly dependent on the phase of ENSO for snowfall, whereas higher elevations and western‐facing slopes were more reliant on the NAO. The identification of pattern couplings is critical to improving understanding of the anomalous climate of the SAM, enhancing seasonal forecasting, and predicting future climate change in the region. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation Wiley Online Library Pacific International Journal of Climatology 39 1 206 217 |
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Wiley Online Library |
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language |
English |
description |
Located in the mid‐latitudes and exhibiting the greatest topographic relief in the eastern United States, the southern Appalachian Mountains (SAM) contain some of the most diverse climatological environments in the United States. This diversity is most pronounced in the winter season when temperature and snowfall can vary drastically across the region. In this study, we identify long‐term trends and variation of temperature and snowfall in the SAM of the southeastern United States during climatological winter (DJF) from 1910 to 2017. Along with recognizing statistically significant climatic trends, we also identify the influence of several teleconnection patterns, namely the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) that further scientific understanding of how this region has remained a climatic anomaly. Results of this study indicate the SAM have experienced a statistically significant long‐term cooling trend since the early 20th century, with recent decades suggesting a reversal towards a warming pattern. Snowfall exhibited high interannual variability, with the 1960s and 1970s producing anomalously high amounts of snowfall. Several atmospheric forcing couplings are identified that align with anomalous conditions in the region. Most notably, negative temperature anomalies and higher snowfall amounts were frequently found during El Niño and negative NAO seasons, with the opposite being true during La Niña and positive NAO winters. The influence of these teleconnection patterns was spatially dependent, with lower elevations and eastern‐facing slopes being highly dependent on the phase of ENSO for snowfall, whereas higher elevations and western‐facing slopes were more reliant on the NAO. The identification of pattern couplings is critical to improving understanding of the anomalous climate of the SAM, enhancing seasonal forecasting, and predicting future climate change in the region. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Eck, Montana A. Perry, L. Baker Soulé, Peter T. Sugg, Johnathan W. Miller, Douglas K. |
spellingShingle |
Eck, Montana A. Perry, L. Baker Soulé, Peter T. Sugg, Johnathan W. Miller, Douglas K. Winter climate variability in the southern Appalachian Mountains, 1910–2017 |
author_facet |
Eck, Montana A. Perry, L. Baker Soulé, Peter T. Sugg, Johnathan W. Miller, Douglas K. |
author_sort |
Eck, Montana A. |
title |
Winter climate variability in the southern Appalachian Mountains, 1910–2017 |
title_short |
Winter climate variability in the southern Appalachian Mountains, 1910–2017 |
title_full |
Winter climate variability in the southern Appalachian Mountains, 1910–2017 |
title_fullStr |
Winter climate variability in the southern Appalachian Mountains, 1910–2017 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Winter climate variability in the southern Appalachian Mountains, 1910–2017 |
title_sort |
winter climate variability in the southern appalachian mountains, 1910–2017 |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/joc.5795 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fjoc.5795 https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/joc.5795 |
geographic |
Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Pacific |
genre |
North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
op_source |
International Journal of Climatology volume 39, issue 1, page 206-217 ISSN 0899-8418 1097-0088 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.5795 |
container_title |
International Journal of Climatology |
container_volume |
39 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
206 |
op_container_end_page |
217 |
_version_ |
1800757816750768128 |