Relationships between daily teleconnection indices and Oklahoma tornado activity

• Main Author: Douglas, Sean Gabriel
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Scholars Junction 2021
• Subjects: teleconnections; tornadoes; Oklahoma; North Atlantic; North Atlantic oscillation
• Online Access: https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/5268; https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/context/td/article/6268/viewcontent/sean_douglas_thesis.pdf

The phasing of various teleconnection patterns has been linked to variability of tornado activity in various geographic regions. These links have been used to improve long-term tornado forecast models. Oklahoma has been long-considered the center of Tornado Alley, has remained vulnerable to tornado hazards despite mitigation efforts, and as such would benefit greatly from improvements to tornado forecasting. This study compares phases of four teleconnection patterns considered to be primary climate influencers in North America (El Niño-Southern Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation, Arctic Oscillation, and Pacific/North American Pattern) to tornado activity in Oklahoma. The phases of these teleconnection patterns were individually compared to Oklahoma tornado day frequency via Ç2 statistical testing. It is shown that there are potentially linkages between the negative phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation, the Arctic Oscillation, and the Pacific-North American Pattern and Oklahoma tornado activity.